this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2023
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[–] [email protected] 206 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

It is useful to have lots of stupid laws. It makes people feel powerless and frustrated. It means the police can always find excuses to persecute you.

The technicalities of the individual laws are not important. It's the psychological effect of the whole body of laws on a people.

[–] doingthestuff 51 points 1 year ago (4 children)

The US does the same thing. People need to push back. Hard.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It is useful to have lots of stupid laws. It makes people feel powerless and frustrated. It means the police can always find excuses to persecute you.

How many laws does the US have again?

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

Nothing in his comment says that the US is not an example of this strategy 🤔

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well an estimate from 2008 put it at upwards of 4,000 just as federal crimes. Not to even touch on state matters ,tax, civil affronts, etc.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

If we don't know the exact number, then it's too high. Lol

[–] cam_i_am 5 points 1 year ago
  • me, complaining about the Acceptable Use Policy I had to sign at work.
[–] chiliedogg 82 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (13 children)

Given the context, this seems more evil than is probably intended.

There are laws about collection and storage of rainwater all over the world unrelated to genocide. Water falling from the sky is the source of aquifers, lakes, and rivers that are important for everyone.

[–] KoalaUnknown 57 points 1 year ago

The problem here is that the Palestine people aren’t being given control of their water.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago

Yeah there are good reasons to limit or prevent rainwater collection in order to preserve necessary river systems or agricultural areas etc.

However I highly highly doubt anything good faith is going on here.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

The context is very straightfoward. It is an occupied territory. The occupier claims ownership of natural ressources in the occupied territory. This is typical imperialist behaviour and illegal under international law.

[–] Saprophyte 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

https://youtu.be/QZkSRlIs9o0?si=l7jYk8g92oIS4t3b

The evil part is having laws like this and then filling in their water sources with concrete.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

To add what others said (like Israel making up rules for Palestine), the people of Palestine are being attacked and their infrastructure targeted. It is pretty evil to destroy the water supply and then say: "but you can't get it elsewhere :)".
I don't think this is necessarily the case here, but laws like this are often an attempt to offer the appearance of legitimacy to acts of violence (i.e. "yes we imprisoned them but they broke the law!").

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

and who better to claim ownership over the rain falling on palastinian soil than the israeli government

i dont think you can justify this stuff, at best make it sound slightly less evil

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Water for agricultural and domnestic use usually is fed back to the water cycle, though.

Watering my veggies is distinct from e.g. building a dam, or something.

[–] Stovetop 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

You could, though, for example, set up a large collection system for water that would normally be fed into a tributary that other farmers are using downstream for irrigation. A company with enough resources to collect and bottle rainwater for profit across a large area that would otherwise feed into aquifers could bleed a small farming community dry.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

AFAIK, there is no such laws in Europe. I know for parts of USA and Israel. Correct me if I am wrong.

[–] uis 4 points 1 year ago

No such laws in Russia. And it seems no such laws in Poland. No for Ukraine, no for Belarus, Kazahstan even has some bonuses if you collect rainwater, Latviya has some bonuses too.

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[–] uis 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There are laws about collection and storage of rainwater all over the world unrelated to genocide.

I never seen them before. Too much rainwater is a problem, but not collecting it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

It's illegal for me to have rain barrels off my gutters. I wanted them to use the water for my garden. I'm not in any area with existing water shortage or drought issues either.

[–] ReluctantMuskrat 6 points 1 year ago

It can be actually. People upstream of water sources - often wealthy people with land but sometimes a collective of local farmers - build dams or retaining ponds to save the water for themselves and on a significant scale can limit the amount of water that goes downstream.

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[–] FlyingSquid 57 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I don't even... how do you prevent that?

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago

Guns and bombs usually do the trick

[–] Leyla 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] FlyingSquid 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What's the usual way of stopping someone from collecting rain water?

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Fines/violence, usually.

It's actually not uncommon to have laws that restrict gathering rain water in many places. Lots of US states do as well. If water is collected locally on a mass scale, it messes with water tables/rivers/lakes/etc.

Forbidding it when a place doesnt have otherwise dependable water infastructure is inhuman however.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I imagine the ban on rainwater collection is from before the war, and I imagine there are similar laws in Israel.

There’s lots to be mad at the Israelis for doing. We don’t need to make things up. This article on water in Gaza makes a good point:

A graphic representation of the unfair restrictions is that while many Jewish settlements have swimming pools, Palestinians in “Area C” of the West Bank are not allowed cisterns for collecting rainwater.

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[–] uis 4 points 1 year ago

it messes with water tables

Everything messes with them. EVERYTHING. Mostly wells.

[–] PunnyName 11 points 1 year ago

Killing them

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[–] dojan 50 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“Rain is the property…”

Wow.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The United States does the same thing all over the Southwest. Rural people will tell you.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It might be the same as Canada where you only can with a permit just to be sure people aren't drinking mold water

[–] MalachaiConstant 5 points 1 year ago

I'd guess it's for droughts

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

There's a difference between needing a permit to collect rainwater because the water belongs to everyone, and being forbidden from collecting rainwater because the water belongs to an oppressing party.

[–] SpunkyMcGoo 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

isn't the point there that shit is super dry and if you leech the water in the wrong places the ground can't handle it?

[–] 7u5k3n 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's illegal in some states as well.

[–] EtherWhack 11 points 1 year ago

I remember learning about this while having This Old House playing in the background.

Here's a map of the regulations for each state (currently the heaviest looks like it is restricted by volume and/or medium of collection) https://www.energy.gov/femp/rainwater-harvesting-regulations-map

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

Hamas has banned the digging of wells since 2021. I don't see how they would permit the harvesting of rainwater, even if there weren't Israeli legal regulations in place (which seem to be on par with many other countries' laws). That plus their systematic dismantling of working water infrastructure for rocket parts has had it's effects.

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[–] medicsofanarchy 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] KoalaUnknown 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] medicsofanarchy 9 points 1 year ago

Great source! Phrased differently - can't build a cistern without a permit - but they are certainly painted as right a-holes about it. Thanks for the source!

[–] Doorbook 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

But hamas collect the water and then make bombs to attack for no specific reason.

[–] uis 7 points 1 year ago

Water bombs. They launch kegs full of water to bankrupt Israel water companies.

[–] Leyla 5 points 1 year ago

Should have added /s at the end. [Differentiating intentions is really hard these days]

[–] igorgama 5 points 1 year ago

What is water? H2O. What does the H stand for? Hydrogen. Ever heard of hydrogen bombs?

Still think Hamas (which is all Palestinians, UN officials, and doctors in hospitals, obviously) just want water do "drink" and "not die of dehydration"?

[–] SVcross 6 points 1 year ago
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