Hamas intentionally uses Gaza’s sewage to pollute Israeli water sources and beaches.
Contaminated wastewater from Hamas-ruled Gaza is streaming toward Israel and reaching the nearby coast of Ashkelon, which shares a border with Gaza.
The amount of sewage flowing directly into Israel’s Hanun stream from Gaza has increased dramatically during the past weeks, raising alarm among officials.
Vacuum trucks used to filter the Palestinian sewage in Israel’s water are no longer effective, and the water has become flooded with hazardous waste.
The situation rapidly deteriorated in recent days when Palestinians deliberately broke through mounds of dirt raised by the IDF, which serve to stop the flow of sewage into Israel.
“What we’re seeing here is an ecological terror attack. The Israeli government must immediately resolve this crisis and not leave the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council to deal with it alone,” said Yair Farjun, head of the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
“The water level rises daily and if the situation remains as it is, the stream will overflow,” he added. “Beyond the visible pollution, the sewage water also pollutes the [region’s] coastal aquifer very severely.”
Large amounts of raw sewage from Gaza have been flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing one of Israel’s largest desalination plants in the southern city of Ashkelon to shut down numerous times due to high pollution levels.
Israel’s Environment Ministry said it closely monitors the Gaza sewage situation. Most of the waste is consumed by algae but a buildup of algae can block filters at the desalination plant, it said, adding that a recent check of the water quality off Ashkelon found the beaches suitable for bathing.
Through the assistance of international donors such as the World Bank, a $100 million sewage treatment plant was built in Gaza. But Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that controls Gaza, has failed to allocate the necessary electricity to operate the facility and instead has dumped raw sewage into the Mediterranean Sea and permitted it to seep into the ground, leading to pollution of the underground aquifers and decimation of local fishing zones.
Disagreements between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over fuel taxes have left Gaza’s only power plant functioning at reduced capacity.
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff