Settlers and Trash by Mayor Walid Hamad 8:36am Wed Nov 6 '02 While the Israeli military strangulation of the West Bank tightens by the day, the Israeli settler community of Psagot, a settlement illegally erected near my city of Al-Bireh, is taking advantage of the Israeli government’s determination to militarily crush Palestinian society to pursue their three decade old policy of illegal land confiscation. Just as the Israeli occupation of the entire Palestinian civilian population has taken on new shapes and forms in the absence of any international intervention, Israeli settlers are camouflaging this latest round of land confiscation behind a facade of environmental issues.. print article ..environmental issues, namely a solid waste landfill site on the eastern front of the City of Al-Bireh. Since October 2000, at the outset of the Palestinian Intifada, the Israeli Occupation Authorities declared -- by military order -- the closure of the Al-Bireh Municipality solid waste landfill site. This landfill site was originally designated to serve a population of over 100,000 people in Al-Bireh and other surrounding Palestinian communities within the Governorate of Ramallah/Al-Bireh. Consequently, the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Municipalities were forced to reopen and use an abandoned Ramallah landfill site. This Ramallah landfill site was abandoned many years ago due to it being overloaded and its close proximity to the Ramallah Industrial Zone and several residential areas. This site was deemed to pose serious health and environmental risks to the City of Ramallah that further justified its closure. Now, after over two years of being forced by the Israeli military to be re-opened and after receiving huge amounts of solid waste, this previously-abandoned Ramallah site has reached a level of health and environmental risk that the situation can no longer be tolerated. The threat of the dump site collapsing during the rapidly approaching winter months is real and adds an additional urgency to the issue. In light of this threat, the City of Ramallah Municipality has formally requested its sister city, Al-Bireh, immediately refrain from using the site. Subsequently, massive amounts of solid waste are accumulating throughout the streets of the City of Al-Bireh creating serious health and environmental hazards. The Municipality of Al-Bireh, in coordination with other Palestinian ministries and institutions, has tried several times to resolve the issue of the closed Al-Bireh landfill with the Israeli Authorities. After much effort, on October 22nd, 2002, the Israeli Authorities opened the landfill site for several hours before a band of heavily armed illegal Israeli settlers from the Psagot settlement closed the landfill site by force by firing on the municipality workers and drivers attempting to reach the site in their municipality trucks. Interestingly enough, the Israeli settlers themselves have never stopped using the landfill for disposing of their own waste throughout the last two years, through today. The Israeli Authority’s politically motivated reasons to close the only available landfill for the entire City of Al-Bireh and its indifference to the settlers rampant actions, has only added gas to the fire of occupation that my citizens have been living with for 36-years. The strategy of the settlers of Psagot is clear. They are hoping that we Palestinians will find an alternative landfill site in order for them to confiscate the large parcel of land the landfill uses in order to add it to the existing confiscated lands that they have already stolen from my city in hopes of expanding their illegal settlement. However, it is impossible for us to seek such an option, even as a last resort, given the physical constraints of land use present in the Oslo Peace Accords. Their strategy is multifaceted. Only last year they confiscated additional lands from the North of Al-Bireh under the pretext of security concerns. As the world is pre-consumed with seemingly more important affairs, the Israeli Occupation Authorities are land grabbing at an unprecedented rate in full synchronization with the illegal Israeli settlers. Today, every street in my city is being turned into a trash dump. My citizens are rightfully complaining about the environmental risk and the health threat this open waste is posing to their children. My city workers have risked their lives, to no avail, to properly dispose of our city’s waste. I urgently appeal to the world community and in specific to environmental organizations worldwide to immediately intervene to allow the Al-Bireh landfill to be reopened. Israeli occupation of the West Bank will soon come tumbling down, but in the meantime; it is time to know who is in charge, the Israeli settlers or the Israeli government. If the website of the Israeli Ministry of the Environment [www1.sviva.gov.il/english] is of any indication – they prominently list only two links on their homepage: the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, believe it or not, the Israel Defense Forces. Mr. Walid Hamad is the Mayor of the Palestinian city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank. He may be reached at tel: 970(or 972) 2-240-6445, fax: 970(or 972)-2-240-4431 or email info@al-bireh.org. electronicintifada.net/v2/article847.sht... add your comments Source file

Dear Mayor- Mr. Walid Hamad by Efrat Gamliel 12:28pm Wed Nov 6 '02 print comment Dear Mayor, Mr. Walid Hamad, I have read your article and wanted to first congratulate you for publishing on Indymedia and then to comment and say that every city must have a good operating dumping site for garbage. We, in Friends of the Earth Middle East have a Palestinian- Israeli- Jordanian program called “Good Water Neighbors”. We are trying to raise public and stakeholders’ awareness towards water and sewage issues, emphasizing the importance of shared responsibility of neighbors for the same water and environment we use. We have heard about the Al-Bireh dumping site case and we do want to assist you in solving the problem. We have turned to the Israeli Authorities for answers and we will inform you of any development on this issue. We have also forwarded your article to many other local and international environmental organizations in the hope of their support. By the way, on the Israeli Ministry of Environment site, they mention all the environmental organizations, including links and information- and not like you mentioned, Sincerely, Efrat Gamliel Good Water Neighbors Israeli Coordinator Friends of the Earth Middle East Efrat@foeme.org add your comments

ILLEGAL by Marcel 2:27pm Sun Nov 24 '02 print comment Mr.Hamad calls the city of Psagot 'illegal'as do all those who oppose Israel's existence. This is one of many key words and phrases used by Israel enemies. Israel won all the land where these 'settlements' are in a defensive war against it's arab neighbors intent on her destruction. You Arab's lost ,get over it ! If it is now 'illegal' for Israel to build on her land ,then every nation on earth,especially the U.S. has expanded 'illegally'. Why are you Arab's soo greedy ,you have 22 nations and yet will not allow the Jews to live in the land of Israel. Dar al Islam is over and you just have to face this reality. add your comments

nothin by anzac 1:11am Mon Dec 2 '02 print comment marcel, at the risk of sounding low-brow, your a fucking zionazi bloodsucker. hope ya rot in hell guy!!! soon. maybey a nice....SB! add your comments

name one defensive victory concession by zionist and proud 6:24pm Sat Dec 7 '02 print comment I`m with Marcel,not one country in the history of war that has defended thier homeland and won,has every given the land appropriated back ,and it sounds to me YOUR tone is full of hate and jelousy!SHALOM add your comments

live in shit by buddy 3:51am Sun Dec 22 '02 print comment ,,,it seems to me that the arabs like living in rubble and shit as thats what they make out if everything they touch add your comments

Do not believe Zionist propaganda by John Veldhuis 10:27am Mon Dec 23 '02 print comment After the civilized world had won the war against the Nazi's, the Netherlands "won" some chunks of Germany. Although those lands were treated as Dutch properties, it was established that it would be inhumane to send all Germans still living there across the border into what was left of Germany. As a result, all territories were given back, and the piracy (taking pieces of Germany because they lost the war)is something we prefer to keep forgotten. add your comments