A new study published by the Taub Center Research and Policy Initiative for Environment and Health focuses on the environmental implications of the October 7, 2023 War and the variety of environmental disasters like oil spills, damage to gas storage units, electricity and water infrastructure, as well as the release of dangerous materials into the air that may follow it.
The researchers, Maya Sadeh and Dr. Rakefet Shafran-Nathan, present a concerning picture in the areas of water, energy, fuel and dangerous materials storage, food security, air pollution, and damage to nature and wildlife. This study is intended to draw the attention of policy makers and the public in Israel regarding the potential dangers in these areas and the possible risks to public health, as well as the community resilience of the Gaza border area population.
The Taub Center Research and Policy Initiative for Environment and Health is a joint project of the Forum for Health and Environment and the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, founded with the generous support of Yad Hanadiv.
Israel is not prepared to supply drinking water in an emergency
As the dependence on desalinated water has grown, water supply from wells and from groundwater have been neglected. There are currently some 500 inactive wells that have been closed due to pollution with no attempt at rehabilitation. This is despite the fact that these water sources should be available in emergencies, when it may not be possible to desalinate water. It is important to note that the desalination process is much more energy-intensive than producing well water. The issue of ensuring the security of clean, high-quality water has risen now since there is a fear of a shortage of chlorine necessary to purify drinking water.
Irregularities in the procedural phases of dealing with a hazardous material event
In Israel there are thousands of storage units for hazardous materials, many of them close to population concentrations. About 3.2 million residents live in areas where there is a real health danger should they be in open spaces at the time of a hazardous material leak. An example of such an event was in May 2021, when a rocket attack hit a storage unit of the Energy Infrastructure Company and caused a fire that burned for several days. The black cloud caused heavy air pollution and residents complained of noxious odors, itchy eyes, and difficulties breathing.
The transport of large quantities of oil — high risk for little economic gain
For the period of the War and the two weeks following cessation of hostilities, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has approved an increase in the amount of crude oil moved through the Gulf of Eilat for local use. This step increases the risk of an oil spill, which would seriously damage the ocean environment, the economy of the city which relies on tourism, and could possibly require the closure of the city’s desalination plant. This danger is ever present, but is especially serious under the current conditions of rocket fire and unmanned drones fired from Yemen.
The Taub Center researchers stress that the economic profit to the country from this step is little compared to the potential health, environmental, and economic risks. According to them, in more normal times, the issue of increasing the oil carrier traffic through the Gulf of Eilat is on the public agenda, and so the fear is that this temporary increase in traffic will become permanent despite the objections of environmental and health organizations.
A shortage of budget and workforce leaves Israel behind
The Ministry of Environmental Protection intended to use its additional budget reserves for issues connected to the climate. The passing of the budget was delayed and ultimately, additional funds were cancelled due to the war. The funds of the Fund for the Maintenance of Cleanliness whose sources are primarily from a landfill tax on local authorities for waste management, and which was earmarked to supply bins for waste segregation which is part of the strategic plan to deal with waste, was cut significantly. At the beginning of November, the government decided to borrow NIS 820 million from the Fund to provide compensation to reserve duty soldiers. Apart from the fact that this stands in opposition to the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law, and the funding was not for this purpose, using more than half of the fund for purposes other than its intended use will serve to delay the implementation of the program for waste management.
The War has also impacted recycling efforts. In some local authorities, waste is not separated due to a shortage of manpower and residents are told to throw everything into a general waste bin which is bound for landfill.
The activities of the Owl Unit of the Green Police, which is responsible for the illegal disposal and burning of waste, have been seriously impaired by a shortage of manpower. Since the start of the War, there has been a substantial decline in the unit’s activities since many of its 15 inspectors have been called up for reserve duty. There has been a notable rise in reports of fires due to burning waste.
In addition to all of this, due to the War, Israel will not be participating in important international conferences on the environment, among them, one that will establish an international accord to prevent pollution from plastics. This is despite the importance of Israel’s participation considering the exceptionally high rates of plastic usage in the country.
Fears of harm to the fresh food supply chain and a rise in prices for fruits and vegetables
The deadly blow that the settlements in the Gaza border area suffered and the many thousands who have been displaced from their homes and livelihoods in the South and the North, among them many farmers and foreign agricultural workers, carries with it the added danger of harming the fresh food supply in Israel. The damage to agriculture is likely to continue into the planting season, and bring with it higher prices for fruit and vegetables for a lengthy period as well as a rise in the cost of living.
Aside from the growing of fruits and vegetables, the War has harmed other agricultural production: cotton in the Gaza border area, which comprises 5.7% of the cotton growing area in the country, has been damaged by dust and fires in the army staging areas. Dairy farming (15% of all the country’s dairy farms) took a serious economic hit due to the War, aside from the harm to livestock and physical structures.
Damage to nature and land in the Gaza border area
The area of the sand dunes near Nativ Ha’asara and Zikim, the Maktesh Reserve in Be’eri, as well as other open areas and nature reserves in the border area all have been harmed by the War. The findings of the study show that the prolonged army activity is likely to pollute the ground with poisonous metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury, and copper, as well as with fuels and other organic substances. This pollution can also harm farming as poisons are liable to penetrate. Before any rehabilitation of the area, it will be essential to survey the status of the land for signs of pollution, and, if necessary, purify and rehabilitate it.
Maya Sadeh, one of the authors of the study, concludes: “In order to prevent an environmental disaster, the agencies that preserve the environment must be strengthened and allowed to recruit manpower and given authority and budget to advance legislation and to increase routine enforcement. In the rehabilitation of the Gaza border area and its redevelopment, special attention should be paid to health and environmental issues, to preserving open spaces, which have tremendous importance in the resilience of residents upon their return to their homes. The rebuilding of these settlements is an opportunity to plan the physical environment and sustainable social and environmental infrastructures.”
The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel is an independent, non-partisan socioeconomic research institute. The Center provides decision makers and the public with research and findings on some of the most critical issues facing Israel in the areas of education, health, welfare, labor markets and economic policy in order to impact the decision-making process in Israel and to advance the well-being of all Israelis.
For details, or to arrange an interview, please contact Chen Mashiach, Spokesperson at the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel: 054-7602151.