An illegal Palestinian dump in Area C is causing an odor nuisance and pollution in West Benjamin For several months, residents of Ateret, in the West Binyamin region of Judea, have been suffering from pollution and odor coming from a nearby illegal Palestinian landfill.
The landfill workers burn tons of garbage daily without separating polluting substances or filtering. Residents of Ateret told the Tazpit Press Service that the smell has reached a point where some of the community’s 900 residents lock themselves inside their homes.
The landfill is located in Area C of Judea and Samaria, where Israel has both administrative and security jurisdiction.
An Ateret security official told TPS that in the past, the Civil Administration and the army would confiscate garbage trucks due to their illegal activity.
But he claimed that recently, the Civil Administration asked the landfill’s owners to move it to Area B, a few meters away from its current location. The Civil Administration does not have jurisdiction in Area B.
Critics of the illegal Palestinian landfills have compared their pollution to “environmental terrorism.”
The long-term effects of landfills on the health of nearby residents include respiratory and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diseases in the brain, eyes, liver, and kidneys.
Photo by Rina Netzer/TPS