Court adopts state position: no new Israeli-owned quarries should be established in the West Bank, but existing ones should be allowed to continue operating. By Zafrir Rinat ‘ The High Court of Justice has authorized Israel to exploit the West Bank’s natural resources for its own economic needs by rejecting a petition against the operation […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/28/2011 03:57 Green groups won’t compromise. Talkbacks () Despite a last-ditch telephone attempt from Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan to convince Israel Lands Authority head Benzi Lieberman to nix the Samar sands mining project on Tuesday, the work is set to begin in the next few days. The contentious Samar sands, located […]

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A tender issued by the Israel Lands Administration to mine the sand was recently won by a contractor. By Zafrir Rinat * * Published 00:28 27.12.11 * Latest update 00:28 27.12.11 SPNI draws line in bid to save Arava sand dune A tender issued by the Israel Lands Administration to mine the sand was recently […]

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AMMAN — A project to preserve the shrinking Dead Sea by replenishing it with Red Sea water cannot stop the salt lake from diminishing further without altering its unique qualities, a recent study indicated. The Dead Sea modelling study, which examined the potential impact of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project on the lake’s […]

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Israel Union for Environmental Defense and the Movement for Quality Government calls for steps to bar Dead Sea Works from promoting projects that would likely worsen the impact of industrial activity on the sea. By Zafrir Rinat As the negotiations between the Finance Ministry and Dead Sea Works over royalties the latter will pay to […]

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Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel says these fish threaten springs’ native crab, fish and amphibian populations, competing for food, eating eggs. By Zafrir Rinat Ariel Filber and Assaf Galdor made their way on Monday from the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel’s field school in Ofra to a small spring […]

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Environmental group urges more studies to assessimpact of air quality on health. By Zafrir Rinat Despite a decline in pollution in the Haifa Bay area over the years, the mortality rate among residents there is higher than in other parts of the country, according to a study by an environmental group. The Public Health Coalition, […]

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Activists from Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the students’ environmental group Green Course, area residents physically blocked bulldozers from starting work. By Zafrir Rinat Dozens of protesters from a number of environmental groups yesterday confronted the contractor who was to begin a contentious sand-mining project at the Samar dunes in the Arava. […]

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Officials plan water plant to end crisis Published Thursday 15/12/2011 (updated) 24/12/2011 13:31 Font- Font+ Head of the Palestinian Water Authority Shaddad al-Attili speaks at a water conference in Israel organized by Friends of the Earth Middle East. (MaanImages/Stringer) JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Water Authority is working to establish a major desalination plant by […]

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AMMAN- Although fewer Jordanians are drinking tap water due to quality concerns, officials and experts stressed that tap water is safe and that alternatives are not as perfect as they seem. Studies and interviews with consumers show that authorities have failed to sway consumers, many of whom were turned away from public water by the […]

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Final agreement with state remains pending; total costs unclear. By Ora Coren Israel Chemicals has agreed to shoulder most of the cost of dredging salt from the bottom of the Dead Sea’s southern half, to rescue the hotel industry from being engulfed by the rising level of brine. The company, a member of the Ofer […]

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By NADAV SHEMER AND SHARON UDASIN 12/26/2011 01:45 Tourism, environmental protection ministers warn that company may increase production if royalties remain at 10%. Talkbacks () Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz threatened on Sunday to establish a committee to examine the state’s shares from Dead Sea quarrying if Israel Chemicals unit Dead Sea Works does not respond […]

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Israel has announced plans to begin restoring the sacred river Jordan by pumping about 30 million cubic metres of water into the parched valley. Up to 98 per cent of the lower river Jordan’s historic flow is diverted by Israel, Jordan and Syria for agricultural use, according to environmentalists. The trickle that remains in the […]

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The Environmental Protection Ministry presented its program a few weeks ago, but the Finance Ministry said it opposes approving the program at this time and has not found money for it. By Zafrir Rinat The cabinet has not found funding to implement a program to reduce air pollution, putting it dangerously close to violating the […]

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By David Krantz NEW YORK (Dec. 22, 2011) — We need another Chanukah miracle. On Chanukah we recall the victory of the few over the many and the weak over the powerful. We celebrate the miracle of the oil and of the reassertion of control over our historic homeland, the present-day land of Israel. But, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/26/2011 03:36 Cabinet members have yet to vote on a national plan to prevent air pollution, allegedly due to Steinitz’s financial opposition to the program. Talkbacks () With only a week left by law to approve a national plan to prevent air pollution, cabinet members have yet to vote on the issue, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/23/2011 08:39 US ambassador: Water, rehabilitation efforts can bring regional peace. Talkbacks (5) Just a few kilometers south of the Yardenit baptismal site, plastic soda bottles blanket the southernmost “clean” section of the Jordan River, while below, raw sewage trickles into a saline brook gushing from an adjacent pipe. A stench overpowers […]

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Catches declined by 40 percent over the past decade, yet experts in the field say the ministry is not doing enough itself to improve the situation. By Zafrir Rinat The fisheries department in the Agriculture Ministry recently took the unusual step of publishing a call for scientists to submit proposals for research to help reverse […]

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Projected $250m World Bank loan to support state budget — Hassan Reported by Omar Obeidat | Dec 23,2011 | 23:38 Spanish Ambassador in Amman Javier Sangro de Liniers, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan and Minister of Water and Irrigation Mousa Jamani attend a signing ceremony on Thursday (Photo courtesy of Planning Ministry) […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/20/2011 03:14 “Forest in current state is at risk of renewed disaster,” environmental protection minister says. Talkbacks () Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has demanded the government do everything in its power to enact the NIS 55 million budget necessary to rehabilitate the flora and fauna damaged in last year’s Carmel fire. […]

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