We have seen the decades of suffering by the Palestinian people at the hands of the apartheid government of Israel and yet little has been said about another unseen problem that lies buried beneath the ground.
Over a long period of time the Israeli Government has secretly been dumping highly radioactive waste from their Dimona Nuclear Facility on Palestinian land. What is ironic is the basis as to why they have dumped their waste at such locations.
Many years ago I started up an environmental action group to safeguard the region I was living in at the time. This would cover all aspects of potential pollution from Gas Turbine Power Stations – Agricultural Pesticides – Air and Water Quality etc.
Part of my responsibility was to cover the technical aspects of environmental care, especially in the area of airborne pollution and the quality of our drinking water.
I spent a lot of my time carrying out studies of Sub Terrain Hydrology, especially the knowledge acquired by Russian Hydrologists, who are rated as some of the best in the world. I obtained large water table maps showing the underground contours and realized that many toxic waste dumps were not only very badly planned but were allowing the toxic plumes to flow towards areas of dense populations.
The study entailed monitoring the progress of the toxic plume from a conventional rubbish dump and also more importantly the progress of highly toxic plumes from industrial/chemical waste dumping grounds.
With all of the above in mind I thought I would look at the situation in Gaza and West Bank to see if the Israeli Government had intentionally dumped there waste in Palestine’s back yard instead of their own. My findings not only shocked me but also allowed me to look into the mindset of some of these evil Israeli planners.
One can see that from their perspective it is better to contaminate Palestinian land and its people than their own Israeli population. However, sometimes they have to make a decision to do the same on their own land. It is always the case that when they are faced with this prospect the contamination will always take place in areas where poorer people live i.e. you will never find a radioactive or toxic waste dump in the more influential districts of any city.
So what is the problem and where have these dumps been created…..the findings will truly shock you. First of all we have to understand that in the environmental sense the government’s policy of dilute and disperse is terribly flawed and is no longer acceptable as far as environmental care and public health is concerned. No level of radiation is safe and no level of toxicity is safe, so why would anyone intentionally place such dumps close to areas of population. One needs to approach the Israeli Government for the answer to this question.
Over a period of time highly radioactive waste from the Dimona Nuclear Facility has been dumped primarily at two locations. One being close to Hebron and the other in central Gaza. When one adds to this the dumping of human waste, domestic waste, industrial waste and hazardous waste we are looking at a very lethal cocktail of underground contamination. One can also add to this hospital waste which can be extremely dangerous to humans
It is a known fact that as far as the Israeli and Palestinian populations are concerned they are totally dependent on the water aquifers that exist below the surface. Obviously with the coastal weather patterns in the East Mediterranean it is the high ground that produces the main rainfall. Moist warm air comes in from the sea and as it hits the high country it rises and causes rain. This makes such water catchment areas the lifeline for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
One does not have to be into rocket science to understand that if you dump in or around this valuable source of water then you will pick up this toxic plume in your water supply. Likewise most dwellers would rely on submersible water pumps or wells for obtaining water or for pumping onto their agricultural crops. It is then that one starts to uptake the toxic plume that fans out from such dumping grounds.
What is rather sad is the fact that despite the sometimes acute water shortages the upper crust of Israeli society still use up vast amounts of water to quench the thirst of their lawns or to top up their swimming pools etc. This has a severe detrimental effect on the poorer dwellers as it tends to lower the water table making drinking water sometime impossible to acquire and can permanently dry up vast tracts of land.
Again I put an emphasis on the fact that if you pump from an underground source you will be uplifting highly radioactive or toxic waste. Historically the problems were well publicized (1998) and obviously with the increased population of Jewish settlers on Palestinian land the situation must now be extremely critical. Some of the main locations given at the time were as follows:
Approximately 4.3 million cubic meters of wastewater are generated per year from Jewish settlements in the West Bank. A large amount is dumped, untreated, on Palestinian land, creating a health hazard for many communities.
According to a study conducted by the Environment Office of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank, it is estimated that the daily amount of domestic waste generated per Jewish settler is 1.3 kg. Thus, the total quantity of solid waste generated by settlers is about 145,000 tons of domestic waste. Again, Palestinians have no access to information about the disposal of solid waste generated by settlers. Evidence shows that much of the waste is being disposed of on Palestinian land and dumping sites. The solid waste generated in West Jerusalem, for example, is transferred to the Abu Dis dumping site. Table 1 shows the Jewish settlements and military bases that dump their waste on Palestinian lands. It is clear that Israel always intends to dump it waste on Palestinian land and not on its own.
The report also revealed the following: There are at least seven Israeli industrial zones in the West Bank. These occupy a total area of approximately 302 hectares, located mainly on hilltops, which often results in the flow of industrial wastewater into adjacent Palestinian lands. In addition, the Israeli authorities have moved many of the polluting industries from various places in Israel to areas near the Green Line or inside the settlements.
For example, a pesticide factory in Kfar Saba which produces dangerous pollutants has been moved to an area near Tulkarem. The wastewater from this factory has damaged the citrus trees and polluted the soil in the area, and poses a serious hazard to the groundwater.3 The Dixon Gas industrial factory, which was located in Netanya, inside Israel, has also been moved to the Tulkarem area. The solid waste generated by the factory is burned in open air.
Israeli industrial factories also existed in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. It is estimated that at least 200 such factories are located there. Some of the products are identifiable, but detailed information on quantities produced, labor, and waste generated is not available. Aluminum, leather- tanning, textile-dyeing, batteries, fiberglass, plastics and other chemicals are among the major industries within these Jewish settlements. The waste generated by them contains toxic elements, such as aluminum, chromium, lead, zinc and nickel. For example, the aluminum industry which is found in many Israeli settlements produces aluminum and acidic waste. Electroplating produces nickel, chrome and acidic waste. The battery industry produces lead in its wastewater. All of these inorganic substances are considered hazardous to health if accumulated in the human body.
Palestinian lands located at the foothills of industrial zones are particularly vulnerable to the flow of industrial waste and evidence shows that pollution-prevention measures are not followed inside the Israeli factories. Also, the generated industrial solid waste is often collected and dumped in areas near Palestinian villages. An example is the Barkan industrial zone located in the Nablus district over a 150-dunum area. It includes approximately 80 factories of various industries, such as aluminum, fiberglass, plastic, electroplating and military: these produce an estimated 810,000 cubic meters of industrial wastewater annually. The waste was previously collected in three storage tanks, but due to design failure, these tanks are overloaded with mud and not operational. Therefore, the industrial wastewater flows untreated to the nearby wadi, damaging agricultural land which belongs to three Palestinian villages - Sarta, Kufr A-Deek and Burqin in the Nablus district - and polluting the groundwater with heavy metals.
A Similar pattern emerged in the Gaza Strip when the Israelis removed vast tracts of arable soil from Gaza and relocated it on the adjacent Israeli land. The huge indentation on the Gazan landscape was replaced with 50,000 tons of Israeli Industrial Chemical Waste. The total dumping amounts to around 150,000 cubic meters of waste.
We have all read about the long standing struggle by the Palestinians against the cancerous growth of Israeli settlements on their land. We have heard of the continuous suffering and harassment by the Israelis and the daily breaches of human rights inflicted on the Palestinian people but no one was prepared for what was to follow with the attack on Gaza in 1998/9 (Cast Lead).
It is amazing how strong the people of Palestine are when faced with such in despicable suffering at the hands of the Apartheid Israel Government and yet really the Palestinians don’t even know the hidden killer that has now become part of their daily lives.
They have been repeatedly bombed with almost every type of experimental weapon, compliments of the US Government and Israelis own weapons manufacturing facility. What must be the greatest horror of all is how the US and the IDF intentionally blasted the Gaza strip with Weapons of Mass Destruction that can only be described as “Mini Nukes.” These dirty bombs did not only just contain depleted uranium components but also traces of other substances indicating fourth generation weapons. One has to now understand the impact of this gross contamination that will remain in the Gaza strip for 4.5 billion years. It will remain an ongoing problem with secondary contamination repeating itself time and time again.
With the assistance of the United Nations, through its UNDP, UNEP and UNWRA organizations, the level of contamination will now accelerate out of control with the approval and commencement of the recycling of materials. This terrible flawed decision has now created another over the horizon disaster for the people of Gaza that is beyond words.
If there is any doubt that areas have been contaminated by radioactive based weaponry then those areas have to be sealed off until such time as they have been checked by experts in the field. In the case of Gaza this was not carried out, despite this being against normal UN protocol. The contaminated rubble is now being pulverized and re distributed to resurface roads and streets in Gaza. This appalling decision by the UN is beyond words. On must also point a finger at the local UNWRA who must surely be aware as to what is going on. It is clear that its Director John Ging should not be preaching what has or has not been done for the people of Gaza but look within his own organization (the UN) to see the terrible health damage that will now flow on from this decision.
The UNWRA in my opinion is a false front to show the people of Gaza that the UN really does care……believe me the UN does not care at all and has not made any effort to resolve the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. The Goldstone Report was basically another “False Flag.” This latest decision to carry out this recycling must surely constitute a crime against humanity by adding to the slow genocide of the people of Gaza. I can confirm that as a direct result of using these dirty weapons on Gaza and also as a direct result of the UN authorizing this recycling programme, secondary contamination will continue to contaminate all the people living in the area. These toxic aerosols of dust do not recognize international borders and therefore we are looking at the contamination of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, West Bank, Jordan, Egypt and beyond. We must also remember that these weapons continue to be used by the IDF on Gaza at regular intervals and so the contamination is ongoing
Finally we have to add to this the fact that nuclear waste from Dimona was dumped in the Palestinian Hebron area and also in the Gaza Strip east of the Al Bareij refugee camp and the town of Deir El Balah.
Another crisis also looms in the future with the fact that the Dimona Reactor is living on borrowed time. It is not only old it is also well past its use by date and could create another Chernobyl type scenario. The entire structure is not only very unstable but also extremely likely that the reactor will overheat with catastrophic consequences. Many other countries in the region have already expressed their concerns…namely Jordan (down wind). Even the US and the IAEA have grave concerns. Israel has repeatedly kept it nuclear facility top secret and also has never had to explain its nuclear arsenal……we are probable looking at something in the region of 200-300 nuclear warheads and many many more weapons that contain uranium components.
This is a disaster waiting to happen and its time the world applied pressure on Israel to open its doors to an inspection. If Israel chooses to remain selfishly arrogant without any due concern to others living around them then one should impose a blockade on Israel.
This map gives you some idea of the initial fall out area but obviously the contamination will go well beyond this map.
Clearly, Jewish settlements are a cause of destruction of Palestinian land and a source of pollution of the Palestinian environment. In addition to creating a major political dilemma for the Palestinian Authority, due to their illegal presence and continued expansion. The constant use of these evil weapons, that date back to the 1970’s is not only killing the people of the region (including their own Jewish populatin) but also will render the entire area uninhabitable. It will adversely affect both the environment and the quality of life today, and for generations to come.
Finally it is my own opinion, that all of this activity of land convoys and sea convoys to take aid to Gaza could result in total destabilization of the Middle East. When a group of countries come together (as in the case of the latest Free Gaza mission) it is easy to see how a legal blockade (imposed by Israel with the authority of the Palestinian Authority) can suddenly get totally out of control.
The passion and hatred that comes out of such attempts can at some stage erupt into a full scale military conflict. As I said in my previous article I am sure there is some hidden agenda at work here that all relates to the Geo Politics of the Middle East Region. If one can imagine for instance that the Turkish Air Force and Navy decided to escort the vessels down to Gaza and just so happened to meet up with and clash with the Israeli Air Force and Navy whiles in transit (a real possibility) one could just imagine the implications, especially the fact that Turkey is part of NATO!
Now we have a possible sailing of Iranian Aid to Gaza (the arch enemy of Israel) who may provide their own military escort…….can one imagine the outcome of such an effort?
Now we have Free Gaza planning another run and also George Galloway trying to organize a massive fleet and overland convoy yet again….this is all despite the fact that the Egyptians have already said that no such land convey will be allowed there again and also the fact that the sea blockade continues…..all under the agreement of the Oslo Accord and the Palestinian Authority….one really dreads to fear the possible ultimate consequences of such actions.
I do appreciate any organization attempting to do well or help Palestine but if this results in an all out conflict it will have the opposite effect. Gaza is already a humanitarian disaster and its people are progressively heading for a very slow genocide but any major armed conflict in the region will bring catastrophic results for the people of Gaza and the whole of Palestine.
I appreciate that the Palestinian Authority had their hands tied when they were almost forced to accept Israeli security for their land, sea and air but at the end of the day it is, dare I say legal. Obviously Israel breaks every UN Resolution or breaches human rights on a daily basis but we have to understand that the current restrictions are the mastermind of not only the Israeli Government but also that of the US, UK, NATO and Egypt who are all part of a pact to control Palestine.
What is so sad is the fact that the offshore Gaza area has incredible wealth in natural resources, which is one of the main reasons behind this initial conflict with Israel. I am more than convinced that Israel through its Joint Venture with a US Oil/drilling company are siphoning off those resources as we speak and yet the people of Gaza and West Bank remain the victim of horrendous punishment at the hands of the Apartheid Israeli Government.
We must fully understand that every organization stemming from the UN right down to the smallest NGO has in its midst Secret Service Operatives from CIA/MI5 and Mossad etc…..they also have both Christian Zionists and Jewish Zionist whose purpose is not to help Palestine but rather to divide and conquer. They infiltrate into the Palestinian community and befriend them whilst at the same time they profile activists. At a given time they provide this profile information to the Secret Services of their represented country and then this is followed by assassinations or arrests of Palestinian citizens. We can see from the Turkish Ferry attack that such planned assassinations took place…..one should be asking the question who did the profiling and which agents were onboard at the time?
I truly believe that the time has come for the world community to insist that the United Nations did its job and immediately resolved this Gaza/West Bank issue without delay. They did it in Lebanon and there is no reason for them not to do the same in Palestine. One fully understands that the UN Security Council is deeply flawed and favours the west. However, within the constitution of the UN it is perfectly clear that they have the power to override this corrupt elite group and get the UN Assembly to vote on the issue and take action. The UN and the WHO are all part of the greater “New World Order” and it is up to all the member states to vote and support Palestine before the current instability gets out of hand, resulting in a major Middle Eastern conflict.
At the end of the day I am sure this is the hidden truth behind all the current Geo Politics of the Middle East. If such an event does takes place it will have the desired effect of boosting the economy of the US and the West by increasing the sale of military hardware and weaponry as well as causing the price of a barrel of oil to skyrocket through the roof.
It is up to we the people to ensure that our respective government push for this to take place and stop these high risk, private sector armada’s from possibly creating a situation that we may all regret. The League of Nations failed many years ago because of its ineffectiveness in dealing with such matters……does this mean we will allow the United Nations to go down the same path?
Watch this place for more exciting articles to come.
Peter Eyre – Middle East Consultant – 8/6/2010
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