uly 18, 2013 01:00 AM By Mohamad El Amin BEIRUT: The U.S. offered Wednesday to help mediate a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over the demarcation of maritime borders, Lebanese officials said after meeting with the top American energy diplomat. Both Lebanon and Israel have claimed a disputed maritime area of 874 square kilometers, which […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists from France, West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Israel to travel to southern town of Sde Boker to discuss common water production issues. ‘Water can be an issue for peace or for conflicts,’ says French ambassador to Israel jn1.tv Published: 07.06.13 See website for video report. VIDEO – Under the patronage of the French Embassy […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The Refaim Valley Park will cover more than 1,425 acres, ‏at the southern exit of Jerusalem where the Green Line passes through. By Nir Hasson 08.07.13 The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee has approved the establishment of a new national park in southern Jerusalem, part of which will include the lands of the village of […]

Read the rest of this entry »

According to a report by the Israel Parks and Nature Authority, a lack of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation has impeded solutions to this problem. By Zafrir Rinat | Jul.03, 2013 Almost 90 percent of sewage from Palestinian towns in the West Bank flows into the environment untreated, contaminating the groundwater and 162 kilometers of streams, according to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

BETHLEHEM, July 7, 2013 (WAFA) – Jewish settlers from illegal ‘Beitar Illit’ settlement Sunday drowned Palestinian-owned agricultural land with wastewater in the village of Wadi Fukin, west of Bethlehem, according to a local source. Head of Wadi Fukin village council Ahmad Sokar told WAFA that settlers pumped wastewater to around 100 dumums of agricultural land […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 07/03/2013 The Public Utility Authority has granted a provisional license for a Druse entrepreneur to build a 6-megawatt farm in the Upper Galilee. In the government’s first motion to approve a wind power generation facility in the minority sector, the Public Utility Authority has granted a provisional license for a Druse entrepreneur […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 07/07/2013 Finance minister promises Peretz he will find funds for program, despite ongoing rumor about Treasury’s objections to plan. Finance Minister Yair Lapid promised Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz on Sunday morning that he would find funds for an environmental protection civil service program, despite ongoing rumors about the Treasury’s objections to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Lebanese energy minister calls for urgent parliamentary session to discuss ‘technological threat’ on his country’s natural gas reserves Doron Peskin Published: 07.08.13, 07:36 / Israel Business Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil called for an urgent parliamentary session over the weekend to discuss the Israeli “threat” on his country’s natural gas reserves. Bassil was referring to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

by Hana Namrouqa | Jul 08, 2013 | 23:19 More than 60 million cubic metres (mcm) of water are currently being pumped from the Azraq Basin on an annual basis for drinking and irrigation, while it produces only 20mcm annually (Petra file photo) AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Monday finalised an […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 08, 2013 | 23:08 Laboratory tests conducted by the government have confirmed that the water pumped from the ancient Disi aquifer, in the south of the country, to Amman is safe after being mixed with freshwater from other sources. In 2009, the Disi water was found to have a high level of natural radioactive […]

Read the rest of this entry »

JT | Jul 08, 2013 | 22:55 AMMAN — The Aqaba Water Company (AWC) on Monday inaugurated the Rehabilitation of Al Alameya Sewer Project with support from the USAID, according to a US embassy statement. Construction of the $1.73 million project was co-financed by USAID (85 per cent) and the AWC (15 per cent). “The […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Proposed amendment to Planning and Building Law, would make Israel’s overarching environmental plans nonbinding. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun.27, 2013 Environmental organizations are up in arms over a government proposal to do away with what they view as a key tool for protecting the environment: binding national master plans. The proposed amendment to the Planning […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The glaring discrepancy in water allocation from West Bank supplies forces Palestinians to rely on water from tankers. Last Modified: 01 Jul 2013 Belen Fernandez is the author of The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work, published by Verso. She is a contributing editor at Jacobin Magazine. Last week, on June 23, Israeli President Shimon […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SOLON SOLOMON 06/29/2013 The Samaria and Judea environmental protection associations’ petition to the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Ministry of Justice has an urgent character, and is important and interesting in that it comes in a highly political context. Right-wing parties and their supporters have long argued for the annexation of Israeli settlements. Only […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Petra | Jun 27, 2013 | 23:23 Updated: Jun 27, 2013 | 23:24 AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday stressed the importance of speeding up renewable energy projects to reduce the Kingdom’s energy bill, which poses a heavy burden on the state budget. During a meeting with Energy Ministry officials, the premier was […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By HAROLD GOLDMEIER 06/30/2013 Socially responsible investors will want to look at a nascent hive of activity where governments and the private sector are lumbering to save the world food supply threatened by mass crop displacement. The survivability of the tiny, nuisance bee is one key to that monumental task. Bee populations around the world […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Home Front Defense Minister Erdan’s appeal not to erect controversial plant near potential Gaza rocket fire is rejected. Rejecting an appeal filed in May by Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, cabinet members reaffirmed their decision to erect a natural gas plant in the controversial Be’er Tuviya Industrial Zone on Sunday. Residents from the Be’er […]

Read the rest of this entry »

July 02, 2013 12:39 AM BEIRUT: Birdlife International this year marked 30 years since the founding of The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon at its annual congress in Ottawa last month. SPNL was honored for the leading role it has played in the revival of the “Hima” – a traditional community-managed protected […]

Read the rest of this entry »

June 29, 2013 BEIRUT: The cornerstone for a controversial dam in Batroun, north Lebanon will be laid Sunday, with the Energy Ministry promising that the project will meet the water needs of more than 40,000 residents. A statement by the ministry, issued Friday, said the Balaa dam project represents “the first large-scale water project” in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

July 01, 2013 BEIRUT: A major eco-friendly tourism project was inaugurated in south Lebanon Sunday to boost economic development in the region. The Tree House project is located in the Bkassine village of Jezzine, and is funded by the European Union under the patronage of State Minister Mohammad Fneish. Hind Oweidat, a ministry representative, described […]

Read the rest of this entry »