Violation: Polluting Palestinian environment with sewerage
Location: Nahhalin- Bethlehem
Date: 24/02/2013
Perpetrators: Etzion colonists
Damage: 100 dunums of agricultural lands
Details:
On 24/02/2013, a group of Etzion colonists opened sewerage to agricultural lands and emptied 10 trucks of manure to 100 agricultural lands in Nahhalin village. The lands are planted with olive trees, citrus and some crops. The lands belong to a number of families in Nahhalin. The pumped sewerage is burning water that kills crops in addition to its foul smell. The sewerage water brings flies that cause diseases to people.
 |
Picture 1: Totally damaged trees with sewerage water
|
Picture 2: Polluted olive groves
|
|
|
Pictures 3-5: A general look at the damaged lands
The problem began in 1995 when a similar incident took place. Colonists pumped sewerage and manure towards agricultural lands. A complaint was filed against the colonists and the ruling was in favor of farmers and colonists were banned from pumping sewerage to the lands of Nahhalin. Colonists returned now doing the same crime. Ghassan Najajra, a young activist, told an LRC observer that: "The sewerage water soaked the whole valley and the lands planted with trees." Protestations made by people of Nahhalin and a lawyer was assigned by the village council to follow the case up.
Sewerage effects on Palestinians:
The Israeli occupation pumps sewerage water into agricultural lands intentionally to harm lands and destroy plants so they are deemed inedible or unusable whether by humans or animals. Plants that are exposed to sewerage have higher rates of salts and nitrate and soil exposed to sewerage has a higher rate of sodium that deems it unsuitable for agriculture. Not to mention the foul smell, disease and flies sewerage brings along.
Sewerage also causes direct damage to the animal wealth industry. Animals like cows and sheep that graze near sewerage get affected when toxic elements precipitate in their tissues and into their milk. So, human beings are also affected if not most harmed.
Sewerage also creates a gap in the environmental diversity in the regions targeted with pollutants . According to a study conducted by Al-Quds (Abu Dees) University in 2008 , there are a lot of plants that disappeared which were near sewerage and weeds grew in their place. Many rodents and flies appeared in the region.
Summary about Nahhalin:
Southeast Bethlehem, Nahhalin’s area is 18, 858 dunums, 890 of which are for construction. It has a population of 7460 people, according to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2007. The Israeli occupation confiscated 4,283 dunums of its lands to build Israeli settlements and 700 dunums for bypasses . 8 settlements are built on its lands and hider Nahhalin’s demographic expansion and/ or any normal development. These colonies are: (Beit Ain-Isoref, Kfar Etzion, Gavaot, Efrat, Rosh Zurim, Hadar Betar, Allon Shevut, Migdal Oz)
