Week-long torrential rain storms give Israel’s freshwater reservoir much needed boost; Water Authority expects additional 50cm rise from snowfall Ynet Published: 01.11.13 Lake Kinneret enjoyed a robust six-day period resulting in a massive rise of nearly a meter, the Water Authority said. The weather system which brought a week-long rain storm to Israel has caused […]

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Petra | Jan 12, 2013 | 21:27 AMMAN — The Ministry of Municipal Affairs will hold accountable municipalities and joint service councils that failed to perform their duties during last week’s blizzard. Minister Mahir Abul Samin said this would be done in accordance with reports from governors and other specialised committees that monitored municipalities’ work. […]

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by Taylor Luck | Jan 12, 2013 | 21:21 AMMAN — Dozens of activists demonstrated in several cities on Friday to protest against what they called a “poor response” by officials to last week’s winter weather. Under the slogan “Your corruption is drowning us,” tens of activists hit the streets in Zarqa, Tafileh, Maan and […]

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Sabrina Ghazal Fri, 11/01/2013 A new minister of environment was appointed last week, and according to two major environmental experts, he could be the best the country ever had. Khaled Mohamed Fahmy Abdel Aal was appointed new minister for environmental affairs last Sunday by Prime Minister Hesham Qandil. Abdel Aal swore in to his new […]

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Research finds tens of thousands of olive trees planted in Israel’s arid areas environmentally beneficial Billie Frenkel Published: 01.12.13 The planting of ten of thousands of olive trees in arid areas in Israel have proved highly beneficial, according to a study which said the trees provide shade for animals, purge the air and even produce […]

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Rana Khaled Sun, 13/01/2013 Famous worldwide for its high nutritional values and medicinal properties, the Moringa tree is mostly unknown in Egypt. In an attempt to make use of this miracle plant on a wide scale, researchers are considering the possibility of mixing extracts of the tree with subsidized bread to improve Egyptian public health. […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jan 09, 2013 AMMAN — More than 44 million cubic metres (mcm) of water flowed into the country’s major dams over the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. Storage at the reservoirs went up from 62mcm on Tuesday morning to 105.5mcm by Wednesday morning, the ministry’s […]

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By Noah Browning QALQILYA (Reuters) – Heavy winter downpours have turned some Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank into a morass of filth and flooding as an Israeli barrier blocks the waters from draining away. In Qalqilya, a town of 42,000 in the northern West Bank almost completely surrounded by the concrete wall, Khaled […]

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January 11, 2013 01:22 AM By Meris Lutz BEIRUT: A combination of political corruption, poorly maintained infrastructure and a lack of planning contributed to the severe flooding that devastated wide swaths of Lebanon following a severe winter storm that struck the country this week, experts told The Daily Star Thursday. The impoverished Beirut suburb of […]

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Lake Kinneret rose 67 centimeters during the recent storm, according to Israel Water Authority figures – between a quarter and a third of its annual average. By Zafrir Rinat and Eli Ashkenazi | Jan.10, 2013 The stormy weather of the past week began to ease on Thursday, with light rain expected Friday mainly on the […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/10/2013 Plan to safeguard TA area’s main highway went through series of committees,subcommittees and steering committees. While a State Comptroller’s Report from nearly a decade ago warned that the Ayalon River canal must be diverted to avert an eventual overflow, the relevant government authorities did not act quickly enough to prevent the […]

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Extreme weather front that brought massive rainfall to Israel causes flooding of agricultural land; prompts possibility of ‘natural disaster’ status for industry Avital Lahav Published: 01.09.13 The heavy rainfall in Israel over the past several days may have been kind to Lake Kinneret, but Israel’s farmers have not fared so well, as the extreme weather […]

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The closure of the Sharonim recycling plant could damage one of the Environmental Protection Ministry’s main campaigns – to encourage the separation of garbage for recycling. By Zafrir Rinat | Dec.31, 2012 One of central Israel’s largest waste recycling facilities, located in Taibeh, lacks a business license and is the source of environmental nuisances, according […]

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Opposition voices concern that JNF plans do not ensure conservation of the region’s unique natural desert landscape. By Zafrir Rinat | Jan.09, 2013 A plan by the Jewish National Fund to plant forests in vast parts of the Arava is prompting concern over its effect on the southern region’s natural landscape. At the request of […]

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January 11, 2013 By Stephen Dockery An ambitious plan to drape cities in green gardens and trees entered its second stage Thursday as Environment Ministry representatives and American officials gathered to mark the project’s progress. The project, funded by the United States Embassy, aims to make major legal and policy changes to regrow green spaces […]

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Study: Dust storms pose growing health hazard in south Ben Gurion University researchers aim to explore nature, effects of dust storms which blanket area in winter; cause spike in air pollution Billie Frenkel Published: 01.07.13 The Ben-Gurion University recently released a study on the effects of dust and storms, the likes of which often engulfs […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/02/2013 NGO report indicates ecological corridors in Center and Haifa regions are notably vulnerable. While Israel’s environmental organizations were able to successfully combat four different threats to open spaces in the year 2012, the country has gained 17 brand new threats for the new year. The threats were unveiled in the sixth […]

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Israel’s celebrities rally to save public beach Prominent entertainers urge government to keep its promise, save central Israel’s Palmachim Beach Ynet Published: 01.05.13 Dozens of Israeli celebrities have joined forces in a campaign meant to save Palmachim Beach, one of Israel’s most popular beaches, which is threatened by urban development projects. As part of the […]

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by Muath Freij and Omar Obeidat | Jan 07, 2013 AMMAN — Heavy rain on Monday clogged the tunnel under the Jubilee Circle in west Amman, causing traffic jams on Madina Al Munawwara Street, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said. Abdul Raouf Rawabdeh, GAM’s executive director for roads, said that GAM teams immediately were deployed […]

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State Comptroller finds major faults in metropolitan area’s gas stations; says many fail to meet fire safety; environmental regulations Billie Frenkel Published: 01.03.13 A new report by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira probing the safety and environmental procedures implemented in gas stations in Israel’s cities in 2011-2012, found that in the greater Tel Aviv area – […]

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