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Borrell Urges Algeria to End Dispute with Spain

Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)
Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)
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Borrell Urges Algeria to End Dispute with Spain

Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)
Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has informed Algerian officials about EU's desire to find “an urgent solution” to the dispute between Algeria and Spain. 

Meanwhile, the Non-Aligned Movement plans on holding a meeting in Algeria next summer, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced Sunday.

Tebboune met with Borrell at the Presidential Palace, the Algerian presidency revealed in a statement without giving further details.

Meanwhile, political sources said that Borrell stressed the significance of resuming ties between EU member Spain and Algeria.

Algeria has expressed objection over Madrid’s bias to a Moroccan proposal for autonomy in Western Sahara, and decided to freeze trade with Spain.

Discussions between Borrell and Tebboune covered the Western Sahara dispute, and the Palestinian cause, political sources said.

They added that the Algerian President affirmed that Algiers stands for the right of Sahara residents to determine their fate through a UN-organized referendum and the right of the Palestinians to establish their state.

The talks also tackled the situation in Libya and Mali.

Borrell discussed this matter thoroughly with Prime Minister Aamene Benabderrahman during their meeting on Sunday.

The EU official told Algeria’s El Khabar newspaper that the EU countries view as “unfortunate” the “serious obstacles” that Algeria has been imposing since June 2022 on trade with Spain. The obstacles exempt gas exports.

“This situation is quite detrimental to the association agreement and serves no one’s interest,” he remarked.

In another context, Tebboune announced during a press conference with Uganda's President that the Non-Aligned Movement countries would hold a meeting in Algeria this summer.

Algeria and Uganda signed two agreements and five memorandums of understanding (MoUs).

Tebboune affirmed the preparedness of Algeria to exchange expertise with Uganda in energy, tourism, food industries, higher education, and scientific research.

The President further congratulated Museveni for the oil discoveries in his country which could “contribute to reinforcing the partnership between the two countries in energy”.

For his part, Museveni stressed that Algeria is a “reliable partner”.

He noted that there is a possibility of launching cooperation projects in petrochemicals, fuels, and refining stations, especially in Uganda following the oilfield discoveries.

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Gazans Struggle to Find Water as Clean Sources Become Increasingly Scarce

Two boy sit on a mattress as they ride on their family car while s fleeing from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Two boy sit on a mattress as they ride on their family car while s fleeing from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
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Gazans Struggle to Find Water as Clean Sources Become Increasingly Scarce

Two boy sit on a mattress as they ride on their family car while s fleeing from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Two boy sit on a mattress as they ride on their family car while s fleeing from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)

Hundreds of thousands of Gaza City residents have lost their main source of clean water in the past week after supplies from Israel's water utility were cut by the Israeli army's renewed offensive, municipal authorities in the territory said.

Many now have to walk, sometimes for miles, to get a small water fill after the Israeli military's bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza City's eastern Shejaia neighborhood, in the north of the Strip, damaged the pipeline operated by state-owned Mekorot.

"Since morning, I have been waiting for water," said 42-year-old Gaza woman Faten Nassar. "There are no stations and no trucks coming. There is no water. The crossings are closed. God willing, the war will end safely and peacefully."

Israel's military said in a statement it was in contact with the relevant organizations to coordinate the repair of what it called a malfunction of the northern pipeline as soon as possible.

It said a second pipeline supplying southern Gaza was still operating, adding that the water supply system "is based on various water sources, including wells and local desalination facilities distributed throughout the Gaza Strip".

Israel ordered Shejaia residents to evacuate last week as it launched an offensive that has seen several districts bombed. The military has said previously it was operating against "terror infrastructure" and had killed a senior militant leader.

The northern pipeline had been supplying 70% of Gaza City's water since the destruction of most of its wells during the war, municipal authorities say.

"The situation is very difficult and things are getting more complicated, especially when it comes to people's daily lives and their daily water needs, whether for cleaning, disinfecting, and even cooking and drinking," said Husni Mhana, the municipality's spokesperson.

"We are now living in a real thirst crisis in Gaza City, and we could face a difficult reality in the coming days if the situation remains the same."

WORSENING WATER CRISIS

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have become internally displaced by the war, with many making daily trips on foot to fill plastic containers with water from the few wells still functioning in remoter areas - and even these do not guarantee clean supplies.

Water for drinking, cooking and washing has increasingly become a luxury for Gaza residents following the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, whose fighters carried out the deadliest attack in decades on Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people in southern Israel and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 50,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign, Palestinian authorities have said.

Many residents across the enclave queue for hours to get one water fill, which usually is not enough for their daily needs.

"I walk long distances. I get tired. I am old, I’m not young to walk around every day to get water," said 64-year-old Adel Al-Hourani.

The Gaza Strip's only natural source of water is the Coastal Aquifer Basin, which runs along the eastern Mediterranean coast from the northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, through Gaza and into Israel.

But its salty tap water is severely depleted, with up to 97% deemed unfit for human consumption due to salinity, over-extraction and pollution.

The Palestinian Water Authority stated that most of its wells had been rendered inoperable during the war.

On March 22, a joint statement by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics and the Water Authority said more than 85% of water and sanitation facilities and assets in Gaza were completely or partially out of service.

Palestinian and United Nations officials said most of Gaza's desalination plants were either damaged or had stopped operations because of Israel's power and fuel cuts.

"Due to the extensive damage incurred by the water and sanitation sector, water supply rates have declined to an average of 3-5 liters per person per day," the statement said.

That was far below the minimum 15 liters per person per day requirement for survival in emergencies, according to the World Health Organization indicators, it added.