Causing an Outbreak of Cancer: This Is How 'Israel' Turned the West Bank Into a Dumping Ground for Its Nuclear Waste

In its own investigation published on February 03, 2022, Arabic Post website revealed increasing fears of high rates of various types of cancers, and congenital malformations in the southern West Bank regions as a result of the Israeli occupation turning the West Bank into a dumping ground for its nuclear and radioactive waste.

There is also a link between radiation and nuclear waste from the Israeli Dimona reactor and the increase in cases of cancer in the southern West Bank, according to many studies and research.

As these areas did not witness any cases of different types of cancer before 1985, this period did not witness the presence of people suffering from cancer and congenital malformations, and recurrent miscarriages of women were not at such a large and continually increasing rate.

 

Long-Term Threat

According to an investigation by Arabic Post, the Israeli authorities did not heed all the official warnings by Palestinian officials, those who expressed their concern about the dangers of high levels of nuclear radiation in the atmosphere and groundwater of areas in the southern West Bank, specifically the city of al-Khalil (Hebron), which records annually record levels of cancer injuries and fetal abnormalities.

In December 2021, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused the Israeli occupation of burying dangerous nuclear waste such as burnt oils, chemical and electronic waste and others in the Palestinian territories; this constitutes a long-term threat to the Palestinian environment (soil, water, air and wildlife), in addition to the outbreak of cancer cases and congenital malformations there.

“There are 6,251 cancer patients, which is a high percentage compared to neighboring countries,” Shtayyeh explained.

He attributed the reason to the fact that the Israelis use the occupied territories as a dumping ground for nuclear waste.

According to Palestinian testimonies revealed by the investigation, the occupation authorities are burying the remnants of their nuclear activities in the villages and towns of the southern West Bank in a manner that contravenes international standards.

The investigation also showed that most of the nuclear waste tomb operations are concentrated in the areas and towns south of Hebron governorate, as it is the closest Palestinian governorate to the Dimona nuclear reactor, as the distance between them is no more than 40 kilometers.

In addition to the fact that these areas fall within the administrative classification (C) according to the Oslo Accords, that is, they are under Israeli military control, this means that the Israeli occupation completely controls the movement of entry and exit to these areas.

This explains the impossibility of the media or relevant international bodies from reaching these areas, to convey the testimonies of the citizens, because they will be subject to arrest or harm by the occupation forces.

In 1958, the Israeli occupation decided, with French assistance, to construct the Dimona nuclear reactor, which was recently named the Shimon Peres Center, announcing that the goal of its establishment is to provide energy to facilities working to reclaim the occupied Negev region, meaning that it is for non-military purposes, according to a statement by former Israeli Prime Minister Ben-Gurion.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, its production of hazardous waste amounted to about 317,000 tons, of which only 40% is treated by recycling, amid the occupation authorities' refusal to disclose the method of treating nuclear waste and its tomb places.

Despite the Israeli logic of ambiguity and deception regarding nuclear weapons, international experts and even some Israelis agreed that Tel Aviv is the fifth nuclear power in the world.

On his part, Palestinian researcher Jaber al-Tamizi, coordinator of the Farmers Union in the city of Hebron, revealed in one of the studies he oversaw the preparation of previously, that the Israeli nuclear program caused the production of more than 4 million tons of nuclear waste, 48% of which were buried in the Palestinian territories, and the rest was transported to the African desert and the oceans.

Al-Tamizi said in his study that the issue is happening in secret and that it has been exacerbated after the Israeli courts issued an order to close factories established in the vicinity of the cities of Umm Khalid (Netanya) and Kfar Saba, it was transferred to Palestinian lands confiscated decades ago in the occupied West Bank, to be concentrated near vital cities such as Tulkarm, Salfit and the city of Hebron in the south.

The transfer of factories was not a coincidence, but rather to target the cities closest to the borders with the occupying state, as part of a series of conspiracy against the Palestinians, whom the Israel occupation is fighting with all immoral means, according to al-Tamizi.

Palestinian sources revealed that the number of tombs that the Israeli occupation built in the West Bank is more than 98, to dispose of nuclear and chemical waste, the majority of them are also concentrated in the towns of Yatta, ad-Dhahiriya, Lubella, Khuilfa, as-Samo', Wadi al-Sarar, and the village of Bani Na'im.

 

Biological Crime

In turn, Eng. Bahjat Jabarin, Director of the Environmental Quality Authority office in Hebron, said in a statement to Arabic Post: “Vast areas of the al-Dawaima Mountains have turned into a barren area, after the mountain, which has an area of more than 5,000 km, was covered with dozens of elements of natural biodiversity such as plants and trees.”

Jabarin attributed the reasons for the disappearance of normal life to the leakage of nuclear radiation from the tombs that the Israeli occupation built in these areas.

The investigation also showed that the occupation authorities dig between 2 to 6 meters into the rocks to bury the nuclear waste, and then they are covered with a concrete canal.

However, this did not prevent the leakage of nuclear radiation into the atmosphere and internal soil until it reached the depth of the groundwater.

The environmental impact of nuclear waste burial is not limited to nature; rather, this impact extends to the high incidence of cancer, some of which are of a rare kind, among citizens living in villages and towns near nuclear tombs.

The World Health Organization reports explained that burning nuclear waste leads to the release of highly toxic dioxins, and to respiratory diseases, skin, eyes and cancer, in addition to severe damage to soil, plants and animals.

In this regard, a study published by the Environment and Development Perspectives magazine in 2008 revealed the outbreak of horrific diseases in the villages of south Hebron.

It also emphasized that there is no reason for the increase in cases of cancer and chest diseases in southern Hebron except the cumulative effect of materials and gasses emitted from nuclear waste landfills in the region.

The study indicated that there is a frightening escalation in the outbreak of terrifying diseases such as infertility, mental retardation, physical disabilities and cancerous diseases, which is known to be caused by radioactive effects, just as it has been proven before in Iraq and Kosovo.

For example: Breast cancer was discovered in an elderly woman, there are children born without hands, some are born with deformities in their face or body, there are also many cases of miscarriage and infertility, and men in southern Hebron suffer from significant hair loss, according to the study.

The study also revealed that the Palestinians suffer from a scarcity of Lugol (non-radioactive iodine) tablets, which are therapeutic tablets taken orally, and in turn work to prevent the leakage of carcinogenic substances into the body. The price of a single package of 10 tablets reaches more than $700.

The study noted that the stock of Lugol in the Israeli regions is estimated at more than 200 million tablets, where the authorities distribute them periodically to their Jewish citizens to enhance their immunity, and to prevent nuclear radiation from reaching their bodies.

According to the data of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 1,700 cases of cancer are diagnosed annually in the Hebron governorate alone, that is, more than half of the total number of cancer cases reported in the West Bank governorates amounted to 3,191 new cases during the year 2020.

In the same context, cancer drains the largest part of the budget of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the annual treatment costs in Israeli and Jordanian hospitals are estimated at between $350-400 million, while the cost of treatment for one patient ranges between $1000-5000 per month.

In turn, Palestinian journalist Iyad Hamad said in a statement to Al-Estiklal: “For decades, the Israeli occupation has been constructing factories that constitute a major state of pollution on the borders with the occupied West Bank, as part of a systematic policy aimed at affecting the lives of the residents of those areas.”

“The burial of the Israeli occupation of toxic nuclear and chemical materials in Area C is a violation of international laws, as it is done without the knowledge of the Palestinian Authority and is considered a biological crime against the residents of the region,” he added.

“The residents of Hebron city and the areas near the Dimona reactor (such as the town of ad-Dhahiriya) are the most affected by these nuclear waste and the radiation it causes, in addition, the Palestinian Authority hospitals lack treatment for cancer patients caused by these emissions, and even the lack of basic treatment for them, such as Lugol tablets,” he noted.

Hamad concluded by saying: “The international community must stand up to this political farce that threatens the entire region. The Atomic Energy Agency must investigate this issue. The Palestinian Authority must expose this biological crime and make it an international issue, as it causes the spread of serious diseases among the Palestinian people.”