As West Bank settlers develop water sources, Palestinians say they are excluded. Which narrative is right? Ein Ariq, WEST BANK — A convoy of white United Nations jeeps pulls into the olive-tree laden valley below the Jewish community of Eli. They are greeted by Jamal Deragmeh, the mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of Lubban […]
Eighteen months ago, Itzhak Ben-David, the Israeli Environment Ministry’s deputy director for enforcement, visited several Israeli army bases in the West Bank. What he saw was shocking. Fuel and oil were leaking unabated into the ground on several sites. In response, Ben-David asked the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to conduct water quality sampling and monitoring. […]
A proposed cross-border ecological park on the banks of the troubled Kishon River shared by Palestinians and Israelis could repair more than the polluted water. If you are paddling a canoe down one of rivers that flows through Israel to the Mediterranean Sea, you might want to hold onto your oars. Some of these rivers […]
Palestinians living in Masafer Yatta who do not have access to the electrical grid have been developing home grown renewable energy plants. Palestinians living in the Masafer Yatta village have been secretly pursuing wind and solar energy projects in order to mitigate a serious shortfall of energy in the village. But the 150,000 residents that […]
Like Tel Aviv and Beirut, Gaza’s getting a boardwalk, but development threatens ancient Roman ruins. For years, it was a dusty, often garbage-strewn asphalt ribbon winding along Gaza City’s otherwise beautiful Mediterranean coast. Today, it’s a construction site, with heavy equipment plowing sand into position, digging tunnels and laying pipes. But if the plans proceed […]
Putting political differences aside, Israelis and Palestinians unite to restore a section of the Kishon River – one of the region’s most polluted. Yet another joint Israeli and the Palestinian Authority eco-project challenges the mainstream notion that it’s all war and friction between Jews and Arabs. Despite a recent accusation by the French Parliament that […]
New drilling results from the Dead Sea provides clues that the Dead Sea almost dried up because of climate change — 125,000 years ago! The rapidly dropping water level of the Dead Sea, a cause of much concern today, occurred as well in the distant past, resulting in the severe drying up of the lake, […]
The Siraj Centre is offering walk and bike tours across the West Bank as well as an environmental-focused trip in 2012 The ‘Environment and Occupation Trip 2012’ tour will explore issues such as freedom of access to water and sanitation in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. It will also be looking at deforestation […]
Palestinian artist Mohamed Abusal envisions converting Gaza’s smuggling tunnels into an underground metro system. A small handful of Bedouin families living in the Gaza Strip ran thousands of smuggling tunnels beneath the Egypt-Gaza Strip separation barrier. In part to transport weapons between Rafah in Egypt and the Rafah Palestinian refugee camp and in part to import […]
Dead Sea bathers, naked or clothed, may now continue to enjoy floating there. Israel Chemicals (ICL), one of the major mineral mining companies at the Dead Sea, and whose activities appears to be partially responsible for continuing rising waters in the salt lake’s southern portion are willing to pay for most of the costs of […]
Spencer Tunick briefing naked participants prior to a photo shoot. Can the Naked Sea stunt be done to save the Jordan River as well? The momentous event staged at the Dead Sea by American photographic art producer Spencer Tunick at the Lowest Point on earth is now over ; and those who participated in this […]
Everyone hates needles, but don’t be a chicken if you want to vaccinate them against the new avian flu If you’ve been reading the news you’ll know that there is a deadly outbreak of the avian flu virus circling the globe again. This one appears to be deadlier than every, UN health authorities are reporting. […]
Recently affected areas avian flu areas appear to be in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The United Nations have urged this week for people to be ready against a possible but major resurgence of the Avian Flu, the H5N1, amid signs that a mutant strain of the deadly Bird Flu virus is spreading in Asia […]
Gaza fishermen preparing nets. Fishing by Gazans now a “hazardous occupation”. Restrictions placed on Gaza fishermen by Israeli naval vessels has made living from the sea an almost impossible occupation these days. This fact goes along with decreasing fish catches in the Mediterranean due to over fishing, increasing sea pollution from sewage, plastic material and […]
We pay for barbecued meat with our health Every year the air pollution rises steeply during Israel’s Independence Day, where even people with vegetarian (or vegaware) leanings have a sudden urge to fry ground beef “kebabs” on the mini BBQ grill sold at minimarkets and basically tossed out after use. But the effects of man’s […]