Al-Bireh (UNA/WAFA) – The Palestinian Environment Quality Authority documented a series of systematic Israeli violations against the Palestinian environment during the first quarter of this year (January, February, March). These violations included the destruction of water resources, the vandalism of agricultural lands and trees, the pumping of wastewater, attacks on livestock, and the smuggling of solid and hazardous waste into the Palestinian territories.
The report issued by the Environment Quality Authority on Sunday monitored dozens of attacks in various northern governorates, with 15 attacks on water wells recorded, including the destruction and filling of wells in Jenin, Tubas, the northern Jordan Valley, Hebron, Jericho, Qalqilya, and Nablus, in addition to four attacks targeting water networks in Jenin, its camp, Khallet al-Dabaa in Masafer Yatta, and the Fasayil area north of Jericho.
The report also documented eight incidents involving the use of untreated wastewater, with Israeli settlements pumping large quantities of wastewater into Palestinian agricultural lands in Qalqilya, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Hebron, polluting vast areas and destroying agricultural crops.
In the same context, the number of attacks on agricultural lands reached more than 45 cases, including bulldozing and uprooting trees and vandalizing gardens and nurseries, especially in the governorates of Qalqilya, Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho and Jenin. The report also indicated that the occupation forces have begun building a new settlement on the lands of the village of Battir in the Bethlehem governorate, named "Nahal Helitz", as part of a systematic colonial expansion.
The report noted 11 attacks targeting livestock in the governorates of Bethlehem, Nablus, Salfit, Hebron, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, and Jericho, in addition to documenting 22 attacks on trees, during which more than 670 olive, almond, and citrus trees were uprooted and destroyed, some of which were decades old.
The Environment Quality Authority also recorded 11 cases of smuggling solid and hazardous waste from within the 48 territories into the Palestinian territories, particularly in Qalqilya, Nablus, Salfit, and Hebron. This poses a threat to public health and the environment and constitutes a clear violation of the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
The report noted that Israeli occupation forces fired large quantities of sound bombs and toxic gas canisters during repeated raids on several areas in the northern governorates, causing air pollution and inflicting incalculable environmental damage.
The report warned that the continuation of these violations, particularly in light of the demolition of infrastructure in Tulkarm, Jenin, and their refugee camps, will exacerbate environmental degradation, pose a threat to local ecosystems, and negatively impact Palestinian food security. The report emphasized that these attacks are part of the occupation's attempts to impose new facts on the ground and confiscate land for colonial expansion.
The Environment Quality Authority concluded its report by emphasizing that these Israeli practices and attacks constitute a flagrant violation of international environmental laws and agreements, most notably the Basel Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
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