Protesters rally in capital against gas refineries
Residents of the Carmel and Hefer Valley argue that facilities are a safety and health hazard
Some 1,500 residents of the Carmel region and the Hefer Valley gathered in Jerusalem Tuesday to demonstrate outside the premises of the National Council for Planning and Building, which was expected to vote on establishing onshore gas facilities.
Protesters are worried that a facility for turning natural gas into liquid will endanger the environment and residents’ health and safety, the Maariv newspaper quoted Hefer Valley Regional Council head Rani Idan as saying. Idan reportedly added that the government had yet to adequately address their concerns.
“Until today, when we asked the ministers and officials questions, they told us that it would be OK and wouldn’t agree to show us the detailed plans, didn’t explain what would be there,” he said. “Now, we understand why.”
“I suggest to all of you that you listen very well to what the Health Ministry and and Environmental Protection Ministry are saying on the subject, to understand what the dangers are,” he added. “We’re in favor of natural gas, but it can’t be that the tycoons and the gas companies endanger our lives with the government’s encouragement.”
On Monday night, the Environmental Protection Ministry suggested that most of the natural gas refinement take place at offshore facilities rather than onshore sites. The ministry clarified that the goal was to have the natural gas be available to the Israeli market as soon as possible, with minimal impact on the environment.
Sources in the ministry said that the current plan allowed developers to potentially develop a petrochemical industrial area as big as Haifa’s, which would leave residents exposed to health and safety risks in the event of a leak or damage to such facilities.
The Hefer Valley is located on the Sharon plain between Tel Aviv and Haifa.
In March, a number of towns in the Carmel foothills petitioned the High Court of Justice to review a decision to build onshore natural gas refineries in the region and to order a cessation of planning until it hands down a decision.
In July 2012, several Israeli mayors, including those of Haifa and Hadera, had a row with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel over the matter. The mayors argued that the facilities posed a danger to residents and the environment, while SPNI countered that onshore facilities were more environmentally friendly than offshore ones.