  {"id":287613,"date":"2023-06-05T09:29:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T13:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&#038;p=287613"},"modified":"2023-06-12T15:52:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T19:52:01","slug":"eu-and-unicef-mark-completion-of-expansion-of-the-southern-gaza-seawater-desalination-plant-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/eu-and-unicef-mark-completion-of-expansion-of-the-southern-gaza-seawater-desalination-plant-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"EU and UNICEF Mark Completion of Expansion of the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant &#8211; Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/sop\/ar\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A9\">Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>GAZA STRIP, 5 June 2023\u00a0<\/strong>-Today, representatives of the Âé¶¹APP, the European Union, and the Palestinian Authority officially marked the finalization of the Gaza Strip desalination plant expansion. With this milestone, water production capacity of the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant is substantially increased, reaching 175,000 more people.<\/p>\n<p>The event was attended by the Minister of the Palestinian Water Authority, the Representative of the European Union, Representatives from European countries, the Special Representative of UNICEF in the State of Palestine, representatives from the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), Youth and local stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis seawater desalination plant provides an example of how Palestinian authorities and international organizations can work together to help collectively fulfill people\u2019s right to safe water. Thanks to this expansion, the plant now provides 250,000 people with affordable safe water for drinking and domestic purposes. It also helps slowing down the deterioration of the coastal aquifer by reducing water extraction. Today, we are marking a major milestone in this important journey we led with the EU, the Palestinian Water Authority and representatives from the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility\u201d, said Lucia Elmi, the Special Representative of UNICEF in the State of Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The completion of the expansion of the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination plant marks a significant achievement in our joint efforts to address the pressing water needs in the Gaza Strip. By working hand in hand with the Palestinian Authority, UNICEF, and local stakeholders, the EU and Member States want to make a tangible difference in the lives of 175,000 more people, who are expected to have access to safe and affordable water for their daily needs. This project exemplifies the power of collaboration and demonstrates the European Union&#8217;s commitment to supporting sustainable solutions that enhance the well-being of the Palestinian community. We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure access to clean water for all,\u201d said European Union Representative Sven K\u00fchn von Burgsdorff on the occasion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompletion of the works and expansion at Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination plant is a major achievement as we are moving forward to operate the plant sustainably. This project is a great example of the cooperation we support and appreciate with local and international partners in developing water and wastewater projects to serve our people the best way we can. Our target is to produce high-quality desalinated water upon international and Palestinian standards for more than 250.000 people in Khan Younis and Rafah, through the largest desalination plant in the Gaza Strip, which will improve the quality of our people&#8217;s livelihood, in addition to protecting the coastal aquifer from further deterioration and over abstraction. By operating this plant, our production of desalinated water to 13 mcm annually (currently 8 mcm).\u201d, said Eng. Mazen Ghunaim Head of the Palestinian Water Authority.<\/p>\n<p>Water is not only a basic human need and right, it is also essential for the functioning of hospitals, schools and households. UNICEF remains ready to support national institutions in planning and delivering sustainable water and sanitation services and responds to emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene needs of the most vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n<p>ENDs.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>For media inquiries, please contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Crickx<\/p>\n<div class=\"press-release--left-rail\">\n<div class=\"press_text_cntr\">\n<div class=\"field node field_press_release_cntblocks odd-t entity_reference_revisions\">\n<div class=\"field_press_release_cntblocks-item odd\">\n<div class=\"text--block-content section-block-content\">\n<div class=\"comp-txt\">\n<div class=\"field paragraph field_component_text_content odd-t text_long\">\n<div>\n<p>UNICEF &#8211; State of Palestine<\/p>\n<p>Email:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jcrickx@unicef.org\">jcrickx@unicef.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mobile: +972 547787604<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Shadi Othman<\/p>\n<p>Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank, Gaza Strip, UNRWA)<\/p>\n<p>Email:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:Shadi.OTHMAN@eeas.europa.eu\">Shadi.OTHMAN@eeas.europa.eu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mobile: +970 599673958<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ahmad Daloul<\/p>\n<p>Palestinian Water Authority<\/p>\n<p>Mobile: +970 599988426<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"press-release--right-rail\">\n<div class=\"media-contacts text grey-lightest-bg\">\n<h3 class=\"h3\">Media contacts<\/h3>\n<div class=\"contacts-list txt-block-full text-small\">\n<div class=\"media-contact\">\n<div class=\"bold\">Jonathan Crickx<\/div>\n<div>Chief of Communication &amp; Advocacy<\/div>\n<div>UNICEF &#8211; State of Palestine<\/div>\n<div class=\"telephone-wrapper\">\n<div>Tel:\u00a0<span class=\"telephone-number\">+97225840400<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629 GAZA STRIP, 5 June 2023\u00a0-Today, representatives of the Âé¶¹APP, the European Union, and the Palestinian Authority officially marked the finalization of the Gaza Strip desalination plant expansion. With this milestone, water production capacity of the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant is substantially increased, reaching 175,000 more people. The event was attended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/eu-and-unicef-mark-completion-of-expansion-of-the-southern-gaza-seawater-desalination-plant-press-release\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[2505,2105],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1853,2005,2273],"entity":[1889,1729],"document-language":[6544,6542],"class_list":["post-287613","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-european-union-eu","document-source-united-nations-childrens-fund-unicef","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-environmental-issues","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-water","entity-intergovernmental-organization-or-multilateral","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-arabic","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287628,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287613\/revisions\/287628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=287613"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=287613"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=287613"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=287613"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=287613"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=287613"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=287613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}