Mohammed Zaatari| The Daily Star ZAHRANI, Lebanon: A deluge of rainwater flooded the streets of Zahrani Wednesday, forcing Syrian refugees to abandon their swamped tents in the southern village. Sleiman Ammar, a refugee child, told The Daily Star that he “I heard her [his cat] meowing so rushed to save her,” while clutching his cat […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Mohammed Zaatari| The Daily Star SIDON: A dead sea turtle believed to be more than 50 years old washed up on a south Lebanon beach Thursday, after apparently choking on plastic grocery bags it mistook for jellyfish. The turtle was discovered by a group of young men while exercising on the beach, sources in Tyre […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Fuel contamination was reported on Tuesday afternoon to the Environmental Protection Ministry, but the source of the leak has yet to be found. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 19, 2015 A large amount of fuel from the Israel Air Force base at Ramat David in northern Israel leaked into Nahal Kishon in the area of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 02/25/2015 One of the biggest achievements of the €900,000-twinning program was the Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry’s publication of a draft Integrated Environmental Licensing Law. Representatives of the Israeli and German Environmental Protection ministries, and of the European Union, celebrated on Tuesday the conclusion of an 18-month twinning project whose focus has been […]

Read the rest of this entry »

18/2/2015 Keynote address at the conference on the review of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) Florina, Malta, 17-18 February 2015 Four years ago, I addressed the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) in Montenegro, to present an Arab perspective on regional priorities. This was at the onset of the uprisings that started in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

16/2/2015 We don’t often hear good news coming from Palestine, but solar energy advances for Palestinian households are something to celebrate. The Dead Sea Photovoltaic Generating Plant offers drastically reduced prices for Palestinians struggling to pay their energy bills and its first phase is now open and underway. The opening of the 710 kW first […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 02/17/2015 Israel to help Islands with about $150,000 worth of support in water-related technology. Aiming to help the Republic of the Marshall Islands overcome its water shortage, the Foreign Ministry is facilitating the transfer of a mobile desalination vehicle to the tiny Pacific Ocean nation. Representatives from Hadera- based G.A.L. Water Technologies […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Rawabi’s dried-up pipe could land Israel in deep water – YNET Op-ed: There are quite a few ways to explain to the world why uninvolved people were killed in Gaza or why Jews are allowed to settle in an occupied territory; but there is no way to explain why Israel is preventing a Palestinian city […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Palestinian land in East Jerusalem to be used for Israeli landfill sitE- HAARETZ Site will lead to removal of 120 Bedouin from area; this is first time since 1991 that private Palestinian land in East Jerusalem has been expropriated. By Nir Hasson | Feb. 18, 2015 A plan to set up a landfill site in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

RAMALLAH, February 16, 2015 (WAFA) – Jordan will sign Monday a letter of intent to import natural gas from Palestine, stated a Jordanian minister. Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Muhammad Hamed said his country would sign a letter of intent to import natural gas from the offshore Gaza Marine field. Hamed made his […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Lior Gutman Published: 02.19.15 Noble Energy announced on Thursday it would not further invest in its offshore natural gas operations in Israel until Jerusalem settles a regulatory dispute regarding the Leviathan and Tamar fields in the eastern Mediterranean. During its quarterly earnings call, Noble said “Further investments in the expansion of Tamar, as well as […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 02/18/2015 Installation of overhead power lines in the area pose a serious threat to the Hula Valley, which has become an international beacon for ecotourism A high voltage, above-ground electricity line planned to cross the Hula Valley could threaten the lives of hundreds of birds every year, according to environmental groups. The […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Desertification in the region has provided fertile ground for the rise of extremists such as ISIS, postulates leading Israeli geostrategist Arnon Soffer. By Ruth Schuster | Feb. 11, 2015 Climate change deniers received a stunning blow this year from none other than Pope Francis, who announced a papal encyclical calling for action on global warming […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By YOSEF I. ABRAMOWITZ 02/12/2015 Astoundingly, “drill-baby-drill” companies are found in nearly every investment portfolio of the Jewish community without any moral qualms. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Funds – the largest in the world – took part in two momentous events last week that I hope will ripple worldwide, including among the Jewish community’s estimated […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By TOVAH LAZAROFF 02/12/2015 Rawabi, which is located on a Samaria hilltop between Ramallah and Nablus, is the first planned Palestinian city in the West Bank that offers affordable modern homes. To help the new Palestinian city of Rawabi open its doors to its first residents, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) has ordered water to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

by SHARON UDASIN 02/12/2015 When an EAPC pipeline burst on December 3, some 5 million liters of crude oil gushed into the Arava Desert, causing particularly damaging impact on the Evrona Nature Reserve in the area. Oil flow through the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company’s underground channel will not be reinstated until the pipeline is proved completely […]

Read the rest of this entry »

9/2/2015 Two Egyptian banks are moving into green lending with an initiative to finance rooftop solar power systems for residential consumers. National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr are offering loans within specific areas of Cairo, with plans to expand into Egypt’s other governorates. Energy Committee Head Magid Eldeen Almanzlaoy said the loans are a […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Israel near bottom of OECD recycling and renewable energy rankings; has largest per capita public water usage. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 11, 2015 Israel ranks near last among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the grouping of the world’s developed countries, in terms of garbage recycling and renewable energy use. The […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesh Atid leader says he’ll propose bill to transfer billions of shekels from KKL-JNF’s coffers into the state treasury. The decision to bring KKL-JNF into the fold was one of the main disputes that led to the collapse of the gov’t; KKL-JNF: Lapid’s trying to get votes and headlines on our expense. Avital Lahav 02.10.15 […]

Read the rest of this entry »

by Khetam Malkawi | Feb 11, 2015 | 23:19 AMMAN — The sudden increase in the number of non-Jordanians in the Kingdom has affected population growth and fertility rates, and led to an increase in crime, an official said this week. Sawsan Majali, secretary general of the Higher Population Council (HPC), noted that having 2.5 […]

Read the rest of this entry »