Israel said to nix German plan for garbage dump to be used only by Palestinians
Despite previous approval for landfill to serve Ramallah district, Environment Ministry reportedly now insists site must also be available to settlers
The Environment Ministry rejected a plan by the German government to build a landfill in the West Bank for Palestinian use only, Hadashot news reported.
The German Development Bank was willing to invest €10 million ($11.5 million) in the Ramun site, which would serve the entire Ramallah district, the report said Sunday. It would replace numerous illegal dump sites in the region, including the unofficial el-Bireh dump. The planned solid waste site was first proposed in 2003.
The Civil Administration, the Israeli Defense Ministry body that administers the West Bank, approved the plan in 2005.
However, Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin of the Likud party said he would not allow the project to proceed unless Israelis living in the area were also permitted to send their garbage to the site, the report said.
The Germans insist that the funding is specifically for developing countries, including the West Bank, and cannot be used for developed countries such as Israel.
Germany reportedly said if the project was not approved by October 1 the money would be redirected elsewhere.
The ministry explained it had already compromised in permitting a new landfill to be constructed.
“The Environment Ministry’s policy (like Germany’s) is not to approve any new landfill sites because of the environmental damage they cause. Due to the poor state of waste treatment in Judea and Samaria,” the ministry told Hadashot news using the Biblical name for the West Bank, “the ministry was prepared to permit a limited number of landfills.”
The statement said that the ministry recognized that German funding could not be used to dispose of Israeli waste, and said it had proposed a resolution.
“The ministry suggested to Germany, considering the general constraints on the German funding, that two landfills be built at the Ramun site, one funded by Germany for Palestinians and one funded by Israel for settlers,” it said. “Unfortunately we have still not received a response to this proposal from Germany.”
