B'Tselem,the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories,points out that between them,the Israeli military and 11,000 Jewish Israeli settlersnow control more than 80 per cent of land in the valley,denying access to Palestinians. The settlers'presence on occupied land is consideredillegal under international law.

The struggle for water is behind the flight of many Palestinians. Villagers used to go to the Jordan River to get their water until a giant barrier was erected blocking their access,with Israeli forces declaring the areaa closed military zone. However,Israeli settlers farming in the closed area are using the water,Khudairi says.

He is the co-ordinator of theJordan Valley Solidarity campaign,a network of local communities that highlight policies discriminating against Palestinians. He grows guavas and olives on land his family has cultivated for 150 years. We met earlier this year at a site where international volunteers were helping to build a community centre for Bardala.

The villagers resorted to building their own wells for water. The giant Israeli state-owned water corporation Mekorot respondedby building wells at the same sites.

The mayor of Bardala,Ziyad Sawafta,says:"Every time they[Israeli soldiers] destroyed those wells,we reopened them. The Israelis built their own tunnels under our water to take the water of the village."

Mekorot mechanised the wells,operating its pumping plant round the clock. On its website,it states:"Mekorot supplies water to Jordan and the Palestinian Authority pursuant to diplomatic accords signed by the Government of Israel."

The 1995 Oslo accords interim agreement,also known as Oslo II,accorded Israel unlimited access to water while Palestinians were allocated a fixed amount yet to be adhered to,Sawafta says."The 600 settlers at the nearby Mehola settlement receive 2500 cups[1 cup= about 200 ml] of water an hour and we get 500 and we are 4000 people,"he says. Khudairi adds that the settlements have gardens and swimming pools.

Under the 1993 Oslo accords,Israel assumed civil administration of part of the Jordan Valley designated Area C for an intended five years. Its regulations forbid Palestinians,even with a land title,from building houses,schools,hospitals or clinics without a permit.

TheIsraeli government's position is that until such time as Palestinians reach a final peace agreement with Israel,the provisions of these"interim"agreements — now in place for 25 years — with regard to water and construction remain in force.

Since 1997,the Israeli Army hasregularly demolished homes,farm sheds and tin-roofed Bedouin encampments. Abdul Rahim Bisharat,who lives further down the valley inthe village of al-Hadidiya,had his house pulled down 32 times over two weeks,Khudairi says.

(In late July,Bisharat and his son,Sakher,were detained by Israeli troops and accused of siphoning water from Israeli supplies. They were released after 36 hours.)

Access to land that generations of Palestinian shepherds used for grazing is closed off by the Israeli military for training. Fifty-five per cent of the land around Bardala is closed off this way.

Sometimes,Khudairi adds,"they haven't actually done any training in them. They place bombs in there and close it off ... some Palestinians have actually died because of that".

Between three and five Palestinians a year arekilled or injured by unexploded ordnance,he says.

Another feature of the Israeli occupation isdeclaring areas nature reserves and then burning them.

"There is no way they will grow again,you can’t have the animals come and graze on them,"Khudairi says."You felt how devastating it was when the fires were in Australia,although it was a natural disaster in your case. In our case,it is a man-made disaster."

Olive groves have been destroyed by both Israeli soldiers and armed settlers.

Khudairi makes a final plea:"We don’t need violence,we don’t need people in two kinds of conditions. We need all to be independent,the same rights,the same justice,the same conditions."

Andra Jackson is a freelance journalist who reported forThe Age between2000 and 2011. She visited the occupied West Bank on a study tour for Australians organised by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.