Israel dumps chem. waste in W Bank

Israeli factories are quietly dumping hazardous industrial waste from polluting industries in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, the city’s governor says.

The Israeli move came to light in November when Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces seized a truckload of chemical waste, originating from Israeli factories, to be emptied in the grounds of Khaduri University, Talal Dweikat said.

PA officials said that a Palestinian man was hired for the job, Ma’an news agency reported on Sunday.

The waste was examined in PA laboratories and was found to be dangerous.

PA forces were put on high alert to check every Israeli truck, arriving in Tulkarm, for hazardous material.

Meanwhile, University President Daoud Az-Za’tery said the university is holding awareness courses to educate students on the hazardous materials.

He noted that many complaints have been received from Tulkarm residents concerning the chemical waste being dumped in the area by Israeli factories.

Some occupied West Bank towns have become “dustbins” for Israeli industrial wastes — including toxic wastes — raising cancer rates up to 10 times, according to local Palestinian doctors.

Another report says there are at least seven Israeli industrial zones in the occupied West Bank and an estimated 200 such factories are located there.

Many of the factories are built mainly on hilltops, which often results in the flow of industrial wastewater into adjacent Palestinian lands damaging the citrus trees, polluting the soil as well as polluting the underground water.

For example, a pesticide factory in Kfar Saba which produces dangerous pollutants has been moved to an area near Tulkarm.

The Dixon Gas industrial factory, which was located in Netanya has also been moved to the Tulkarm area. The solid waste generated by the factory is burned in open air.