On Monday December 1st the Legal Forum for Israel and other organizations marked a significant success when the Planning Council Appeals Committee revoked plans to establish a German funded waste disposal site near Rimonim in area C, which is under complete Israeli rule, for the sole use of the Palestinian residents in Areas A & B of Judea and Samaria.

The story began in May 2013 when the Legal Forum and other organizations including Green Now, the Judea and Samaria Regional Councils, and the Municipal Environmental Associations filed objections to the landfill. They claimed it would be environmentally problematic because it is located just north of the Nahal Makoch Nature Reserve in the northern part of the Judean Desert.
In addition, the German decision to construct a site for residents of the A & B areas in the C area is a political interference in Israeli policy and is a clear case of discrimination as it was decided by the Germans that the site will be for Arab use only.

In its decision the committee stated that “the plans are rejected in light of the objections presented as a whole. The concerns that approval of the plan will lead to serious environmental damage and doubts that the site will not be operated properly, are too strong for us to place our hopes and faith in the methods proposed in the plan and in the statement regarding the environmental impact.
Furthermore, the need for a waste disposal site that will serve the residents in this area is undisputed. However, it seems that it would be preferable to locate another site which is less dangerous to the environment than the one presented to us in this proposal”.
This success is thanks to the cooperation of several organizations, who share a common interest, to protect the interests of the State of Israel and defend the rights of the citizens in this area.