Michigan Peace Team: Visiting Bedouins in the Jordan Valley http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=254:michigan-peace-team--visiting-bedouins-in-the-jordan-valley-&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21

After a short visit to Jericho we were met by a member of the Jordan Valley Solidarity Group who acted as a guide to help us understand the problems the Bedouin people are facing due to the military occupation of their ancient land and the ethnic cleansing tactics of the State of Israel. Two generations ago, there were 300,000 Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley. That number is now down to 56,000 -- one sixth the population

 First we stopped by the dried-up Al A‘uja spring that used to provide water to much of the southern Jordan Valley. It is dried up because Israel has drilled deep wells and stolen the water. Israel provides the water only to the illegal Israeli settlements. Only in the winter does the spring now provide a tiny bit of water. The Bedouin are forced to buy water from Israel in large tanks at exorbitant prices.