The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Issues a Press Releaseon World Environment Day

 

 

“The Palestinian Environment is a Victim of Continues Israeli Attrition”

 

In the occasion of the world Environment Day, celebrated every year on the fifth of June since

 

1972, when the United Nations declared World Environment Day at the opening of the

Stockholm conference on human environment. At the same time, the UN announced the

establishment of the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP), and gave it the

responsibility of increasing world attention to the environment, and increasing awareness of the public on their important role in protecting the environment.

 

The depletion and destruction of environmental resources in the Palestinian Territory caused by a number of causes, foremost of brutal and barbaric Israeli actions in the Palestinian Territory, which is classified as a form of terrorism on the Palestinian environment. The bad management of these resources by the Palestinians at all levels and sectors play a pivotal role in the destruction and attrition of this Environment.

 

The Population Density in the PalestinianTerritory was 625 Persons/km2 in the End of 2007

 

PCBS estimations indicate that the population density in the PalestinianTerritory was 625 persons/km2 in the end of 2007. In the West Bank, the density was 415 persons/km2 while in Gaza Strip, the density raised to 3,881 persons/km2. In Israel the population density in 2007 was approximately 317 person/km2 of Arabs and Jews.

 

142.7 Million Liters of Water Drained by Settlers in the West Bank

 

475,760 settlers consume142.7 million liters per day of the total amount of water in the West Bank. The Israeli forces since the start of the Second Intifada in Sept. 2000 until the date of 31/12/2007 demolished 455 wells (totally with equipment) and 1,878 ponds and reservoirs of water, according to Ministry of Agriculture estimations. By Studying the wall of annexation and expansion and the land which was build on, we found that the isolated area behind the wall is located over the western and north-east basin which

discharges an estimated 507 million cubic meters annually, while the eastern isolated region is located entirely on the eastern basin which discharge an estimated 172 million cubic meters annually. The extraction of fresh water from these basins is done by pumping groundwater from wells or through the disposal of natural springs. The estimated number of groundwater wells in these regions was 165 wells with a pumping capacity of 33 million cubic meters per year, Also the number of springs estimated 53 fountains which discharge 22 million cubic meters annually. The extracted water from wells and springs, located in the isolated and confiscated region, used for human consumption, agricultural, industrial and tourism uses which do not serve just the residential areas within the isolated region, but also it transferred and used in the regions and communities located behind the wall, which means that Israel is robbing a large percentage of Water resources which deprives the Palestinians from their water.

 

144 Colony Separates Palestinian Communities from the Area Around its Environment

and Prejudice the Ecological Balance

 

Israeli settlements are one of the most prominent manifestations of Israeli destruction of the Palestinian environment in the West Bank. The process of horizontal expansion of the

colonies is accompanied with destructive activities on the environment in the Palestinian

Territory, such activities include bulldozing and confiscating of agricultural land for

construction of roads to provide protection for the settlers. Since the start of the Second

Intifada until the date 31/12/2007, there were 1,630 destroyed trees in the Palestinian

Territory, and 2,851 dunums of destroyed greenhouses, beside 13,148 dunums of Scooped exposed vegetables area, and 14,077 dunums of scooped field crops area.

 

Length is 764.4 Kilometers of Bypass Roads in the PalestinianTerritory

 

Bypass roads are other phenomena of Israeli attacks on Palestinian environment, the total

length of bypass roads in the occupied PalestinianTerritory was 764.4 kilometers. Such

activities contribute in removing vegetation cover on a long distances and limit the movement of wild animals.

 

Millions of Tons of Toxic Gas and Large Amounts of Dust Blown Daily into the

Palestinian Air

 

Palestinians are exposed to millions of tons of toxic gases because of the dozens of chemical plants and colonies distributed in the West Bank. The produced gases and dust from the Israeli establishments destroyed large areas of agricultural crops and trees, and this will reflect on the health of the Palestinian citizens who deals with the resulting crop and vegetables. These cases and accidents occurred in the Palestinian villages such as Deir Sharaf in Nablus governorate and Beit Fajjar in Bethlehem governorate. Also, the factories built in the Tulkarem, Qalqiliya and Salfit governoretes, (Burqan industrial zone, Geshory factory beside fertilizers, chemicals, and military industries ) produce large amounts of dangerous materials and wastes that buried and thrown in the Palestinian agricultural lands, which means that these waste pollute the soil and ground water that the Palestinian use.

 

96.1% of Secondary Health Care Centers (Governmental and Non-Governmental) in the PalestinianTerritory Obtain Water for Consumption from the Water Network

 

84.0% of health care centers (governmental and non-governmental) in the Palestinian

Territory obtain water for consumption from the water network, representing 96.1% of

secondary health care centers, and 83.1% of primary health care centers that obtain water

from the network. Concerning economic establishments, results show that 86.7% of economic establishments in the PalestinianTerritory in 2006 were connected to the public water network, compared to 6.7% of the establishments which used rain collection water wells.

 

2 Million Ton are the Estimate Quantity of Solid Waste in the PalestinianTerritory

 

The Estimation indicate that the amount of solid waste produced in the Palestinian Territory during 2007 are two million tons, 53.7% of which produced in the domestic sector and 44.8% resulted from the economic sector (industrial activities, constructions, whole sale, retail and repairs, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communications, real estate, renting and business activities, education, health and social work, community, social and personal services), and 1.5% produced in the health care sector.

 

34.4% of Health Care Centers (Governmental and Non-Governmental) in the

Palestinian Territory in 2007 Dispose of their Wastewater Using a Public Network

 

34.4% of health care centers (governmental and non-governmental) in the Palestinian

Territory in 2007 dispose of their wastewater using a public network.

 

Wastewater network was used for disposal of wastewater by 66.8% of the economic

establishments, and by 45.3% of the households in the PalestinianTerritory in 2006.