Violation: Environment pollution by pumping sewage into Palestinian lands
Location: Qarawet Bani Hassan, Salfit governorate
Date: 13/06/2014
Perpetrators: Colonists of Qarawet Bani Hassan
Victims: People of the village
Details:
The western hills of Salfit, known for breathtaking scenery and greenery in an area of outstanding beauty, suffer from a systematic targeting by the Israeli occupation trying to attack Palestinian land and destroy the Palestinian environment and have it at their disposal.
Israeli colonies have been imposing a great threat on the Palestinian environment and biodiversity. So what happens in Qarawet Bani Hassan is no exception.
The village, west of Salfit, has been suffering from the pollutants of the colony of Kiryat Netafim, that pumps sewage via special pools "lagoons" located inside the colony towards bypass road no.505, also known as Samaria's Passenger that separates between the east of Salfit and its west and passes through Qarawet Bani Hassan.
It should be marked that the unprocessed waste water has become a usual scene as the colony pumps sewage towards the road on almost a daily basis with premeditated intentions to destroy the Palestinian environment. The waste water seeps through two kilometers of land according to eyewitness and LRC field research.
The waste water is a means of attracting flies and rodents and a cause of bad smell and health diseases as well as a threat to the Palestinian environment exposed to dangerous pollutants.
Pictures 1-3: Sewage pumped by the Kiryat Netafim colony flowing over the sides of the road
The Municipality of Qarawet Bani Hassan… Is There a Solution in the Horizon?
An LRC field researcher paid a visit to the municipality of Qarawet Bani Hasan where he inquired about the role of the municipality in finding a solution to the problem and its attempts at seeking help from governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Mr. Husam Asi, the secretary of the municipality, stated the following to the researcher:"We have been suffering from the problem of sewage pumped by the nearby colony of Kiryat Netafim for over five years but the problem has recently got bigger and more inflated. In the past, colonists used to pump sewage through the lagoons once a week, now they do that three times a week! That rings a bell.
We discussed the matter with different official and international bodies including Palestine Ministry of Health, the Civic Coalition, and the Red Cross but to no avail. Israel does not pay respect to any and keeps inventing pretexts to carry on with doing what it is doing."
"The most affected area of the waste water", Asi said, "was the southwestern part of the village that is in parallel to the bypass road."
Kiryat Netafim is under expansion:
Concluded from field observation, the colony of Kiryat Netafim is undergoing expansion, especially so in the eastern part in accordance with the expansive trend taking place in the colonies on the lands of Salfit and the West Bank in general.
35 dunums within the circumference of the colony from the east have been ravaged and a number of prefabricated houses have been added.
Picture 4: Expansion and ravaging work in the eastern side of Kiryat Netafim colony
The name of the colony is derived from al- Nowaitif ancient Roman well founded on the lands of Qarawet Bani Hassan town. The colony was built in the beginning of the eighties of the last century on the lands of Qarawet Bani Hassan and nearby Sarta.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
