The hypocrisy of Liberal and Western supporters of the Palestinian agenda is seemingly endless. A councilman for the Israeli city of Rosh Ha'ayin recently spoke of the Arab garbage burning pits that pollute his city. "The fires include fuels, oils, rubber, agricultural waste, nylon, pesticides, and electrical products. It emits dangerous toxins that can cause breathing difficulties and even cause cancer. During a serious fire, half of the residents of Rosh Haayin cannot leave their homes and are forced to stay inside with the windows closed for several hours."
The various factions of Palestinian leadership have been attending international events for decades hosted by climate change-cautious politicians and dignitaries while enabling some of the world’s most toxic pollution. The Palestinian Authority, as the official governing body of “Palestine”, has not developed policies that are not either taxes or a twisted version of 'life insurance' for those who terrorize Israel.
oh so an out of context tweet from 10 years ago - are you aware that despite huge infrastructure grants for this purpose from EU to build waste disposal, the Palestinian Authority hasn't built any sewers or recycle plants in 20 years?
— ISRAELRADIOGUY🇮🇱 (@israelradioguy) December 15, 2020
Due to the gaps in civil administration created by the misuse of funds through the rewarding of terrorists instead of establishing sanitation and waste removal capabilities, residents of PA-run villages are forced to dispose of their waste independently. After decades of this anarchy, what has become standard are garbage burning pits for all PA villages and cities.
It is not an uncommon site to see big plumes of black smoke coming from random villages in Judea & Samaria. Many anti-Israel activists post these photos and attribute them to Israeli strikes on unsuspecting villagers, a lie that is the foundation of their claim that Israel is committing genocide. Even outlets like the New York Times which are supposed to have journalistic integrity repost these images without verifying the claims. Meanwhile, the only element that is harming Palestinians in the villages, as well as their Israeli neighbors, is the carcinogenic fires used to dispose of all their garbage.
'palestinian' supporters using the phrase "#Palestinian' can't breath since 1948. "
— Israel Kicks A** (@Israelkicksass) July 1, 2020
Of course they can't breath, burning tires and garbage bins makes it difficult to breath.
To their credit, the PA government does have an environmental department, but it is near the bottom of their annual budget priorities. It is mostly used for propaganda-infused diplomatic visits in which they blame Israel for its awful sanitation. However, Israel in 2022 alone has transferred over 90 million Shekels for the use of all sanitary and environmental purposes. Sadly, with the corrupt Palestinian leadership who line their pockets with much of the aid given to the Palestinians, the whereabouts of the money Israel gives is unknown. In fact, many nations that contribute to the welfare of the Palestinian people never receive an accounting of where or how that money is spent.
Part of the PA’s official narrative on why they are so unreasonably pollutive is that Israeli authorities and individuals often dump garbage on their grounds, forcing them to resort to quick and cheap solutions. Nevertheless, there is little to no evidence of that claim, not even a photograph in the age of smartphones. On the contrary, there is plenty of evidence, video and photographs of Palestinians using Israeli state lands as garbage dumps.
With every passsing day, the environmental damage & pollution in Judea & Samaria only get worse.
— Regavim (@RegavimEng) November 23, 2022
Watch this short video taken by Menash, our field coordinator, who visited an illegal garbage dump next to Birzeit >> pic.twitter.com/AqHaswhvFN
During the Pandemic, the city of Ramallah used a quarry connected to the Israeli industrial area of “Shaar Binyamin”, as a dumping site for all their unfiltered, toxic waste. At the time, a right-wing NGO co-founded by Bezalel Smotrich, “Regavim”, researched the extent of pollution caused by the PA at the quarry, and published an astonishing report. The data showed that over 10,000 cubic meters of toxic waste were spilled in the quarry during the pandemic.
Afraid of starting yet another wave of PA-sanctioned terrorism, recent Israeli governments have been hesitant on confronting Abu Mazen and his ministers about their unchecked pollution. A politically charged statement from the Regavim organization was released about the Israeli government’s part in PA pollution. “It is hard for us to believe that the Palestinian Authority was able to hide the thousands of trucks that dumped garbage, leading us to assume the authorities turn a blind eye by choice, not by necessity. We still hope that someone will wake up soon and stop this disgrace."
³After Regavim alerted, complained, & demanded, Civil Administration officials finally came with shovels and trucks, and worked for days to burn the garbage & then bury it. And who paid the ₪370,098 for the whole operation? That’s right, we all did – the Israeli taxpayer! pic.twitter.com/c1bDcPICdV
— Regavim (@RegavimEng) June 23, 2022
Even if the different Arab towns independently sought to find a less harmful solution for their waste, the general lack of policy has created terrible socioeconomic conditions for most Palestinian Authority residents. Despite virtually any proper civil services offered, the Palestinian Authority takes a handsome amount of taxes from residents. Most recently the PA pushed the Lapid government into enforcing the payment of all Palestinian workers in Israel through bank transfers and not cash.
Somehow the growing global progressive, anti-Zionist movement has no problem supporting Palestine, even if that means the destruction of all other values they hold in regard to pollution and corruption.
Most recently and in the shadow of the latest COP27 event in Egypt, in an article released on the BDS movement’s website in early November of 2022, it says: “the struggle to dismantle Israel’s decades-old regime of settler-colonialism and apartheid in Palestine goes hand in hand with global struggles for justice, including climate justice.” Perhaps a better way to put it is the struggle to dismantle Arabs in the West Bank from the Palestinian Authority’s colonialism goes hand in hand with justice for Palestinians and for the environment.
8) Due to irresponsible medicinal waste disposal, water supplies like the Palestinian west bank and the Nairobi river have been found to contain unsafe levels of contamination responsible for environmental development of resistance to antimicrobial medicine.
— gangStar🌟 (@jaydedaf) May 29, 2019
Although many are appalled by the incoming right-wing Israeli government, it may prove to be effective in some arenas. The halt on all Israeli financial aid packages including sanitation-related ones will surely put the PA on the spot, exposing them as the real occupiers and oppressors of Palestinians.
