Israel Orders Environmental Survey of Gaza Settlements to Counter Claims of Pollution

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Israel is to conduct an environmental survey of its Gaza Strip settlements ahead of the planned pullout next month in a bid to counter Palestinian claims it has deliberately polluted the area, Environment Minister Shalom Simchon said Tuesday.

JERUSALEM — Israel is to conduct an environmental survey of its Gaza Strip settlements ahead of the planned pullout next month in a bid to counter Palestinian claims it has deliberately polluted the area, Environment Minister Shalom Simchon said Tuesday.


Simchon said the results would be presented to relevant international officials. Last week a Palestinian official charged Israel with deliberately poisoning agricultural land in Gaza ahead of the handover.


"Israel is not polluting the areas it will evacuate, but we want to prepare for any claims," Simchon told Israel Radio.


"We are convinced the results of the environmental survey will reassure the international community, the Palestinians and ourselves," he said.


Simchon said there were some hazardous materials stored at the Erez industrial zone on the northern border of Gaza, but the Defense Ministry had promised to remove them before the pullout.


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He said they consisted of industrial and agricultural chemicals. Simchon denied there were any radioactive materials in the area.


Simchon also called on the Israeli government to reverse its decision to destroy the buildings in the 21 Gaza settlements set to be evacuated, saying the 1.5 million tons of rubble it would create would pose an environmental problem if it were not properly sorted.


"There is no choice but to leave the houses and let the Palestinians remove them and use the materials...for their own purposes, even if we will have to fund it," he said.


Source: Associated Press