By Elizabeth Price
In a recently published environmental survey of the Jerusalem area, Jad Ishak, general director of the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem, analysed the Israeli strategy of land appropriation and expressed his concerns about its harmful environmental consequences.
Ishak explained that the Israeli authorities have systematically appropriated and built up land in order to "squeeze and suffocate Palestinian villages around Jerusalem" and to ensure that they cannot expand.
Although the numbers of Palestinians in the Jerusalem district is roughly equal to the number of Israelis, Palestinians own only 13% of the land. The rest is owned by Israeli citizens or controlled by the Israeli authorities.
According to Ishak, since 1967, the Israeli government has been constructing settlements in any area not populated by Palestinians in order to restrict Palestinian populations and to support its claim to Jerusalem by creating a Jewish majority. Settlements and land marked for settlement expansion occupy 42.5% of the district.
The second form of land appropriation is the creation of closed military zones. The largest closed military zone begins near Maale Adumim and stretches eastward to the Jerusalem district border. Its positioning on the eastern side of Jerusalem has prevented the Palestinian villages and suburbs of East Jerusalem, which lie along its lengthy north-south border, from expanding.
The last category of Israeli land use is the creation of "green areas", which occupy 44% of the Jerusalem area. Ishak explained that these "green areas" are often later used for the construction or expansion of settlements. He pointed to the plans to build a settlement on Mt Abu Ghneim, a historic and lush "green area" near Bethlehem.
Ishak said the peace agreements will not make a difference to Israeli land appropriation. He went on to express his concerns for the environmental neglect by the Israeli government of the appropriated land and of the Jerusalem district in general.
He described increasing desertification of the surrounding area, a rise in air pollution and the contamination of ground water.
Ishak added that he questioned whether the Jerusalem authorities fully understood or were capable of dealing with the important environmental issues of Jerusalem. He explained that, in an attempt to "greenify" Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, the current mayor, had planted date palm trees in the city, ignoring the fact that, while the palm trees require only 250-350 ml of rain per year, Jerusalem receives more than 700 ml.
Ishak said that the sharp population increase in the last three decades has resulted in a serious problem of excess waste water. Water supplies in the areas of Abu Dis, Beit Safafa and the Dead Sea are increasingly contaminated by waste water from Jerusalem and surrounding settlements. Every hour 500 cubic metres of waste material are sent from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea area.
Ishak said that the appropriation of Mt Abu Ghneim only further demonstrates the dangers inherent in irresponsible Israeli land use. In direct contradiction of the much-publicised Israeli policy of tree planting, the construction of the settlement will require the clearing of 72,000 trees (95 hectares) planted during Jordanian rule.
Ishak concluded by warning of the dangers in regarding Jerusalem as solely a political symbol and ignoring its environmental status. He cautioned, "Jerusalem will be the victim of political ambivalence. Anyone who loves Jerusalem should protect its environment, for environment does not distinguish between Palestinians and Israelis."
However, he placed most of the blame on Israeli mismanagement, saying, "What Israelis are doing to Palestinians in Jerusalem is a crime, and the price will be paid by the next generation".
[Abridged from the Jerusalem Times.]