Untreated sewage from the Arab villages in the Bir Zeit area has been flowing for months into the adjacent valley, causing massive pollution and posing serious health hazards. Regavim demands that the Ministries of Defense and Environmental Protection take immediate action.
Anyone traveling along Route 465 – The Trans-Binyamin Highway – near the city of Rawabi and the community of Ateret, can’t avoid the stench of sewage that engulfs the entire area.
Raw sewage has been flowing freely only a few meters from the highway, emptying into nearby Wadi Hamam.
The source of the sewage is one or more of the Arab villages adjacent to the highway: Yabrud and Jifna, or Bir Zeit, home to the 15,000 students of Bir Zeit University.
The untreated waste flows along unhindered for several kilometers, causing a host of environmental woes along the way: Foul odors, mosquito infestation, severe ecological damage, and a staggering array of health hazards.
In a letter sent to the Civil Administration, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin, the Regavim organization demanded that action be taken to deal with the raw sewage.
“We at Regavim are saddened to find that once again, we are fighting this battle alone,” wrote Yishai Hemo, field coordinator for Judea and Samaria for the organization.
“There is no shortage of organizations that claim to defend the environment or the rights of those affected by this criminal abuse of nature, but these organizations continue to turn a blind eye to ecological hazards that are politically ‘inconvenient.’
“We demand that the authorities take action to reverse the damage and restore the area’s ecology. Furthermore, we demand that the perpetrators of this crime be held criminally responsible.”