Jerusalem Municipality Plans Garbage Dump on Palestinian Villages of 'Anata and Al-'Issawiyya
(Jerusalem) Adalah submitted an objection (Hebrew)in cooperation with the Civic Coalition for Defending the Palestinians’ Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ), on behalf of the 'Anata Municipality to the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee against a plan to construct a landfill in East Jerusalem, on lands belonging to the Palestinian villages of 'Anata (Population: 20,000) and Al-'Issawiyya (12,000). The plan includes new solid waste management buildings and roads, and changes to the water, sanitation, electrical, and telephone infrastructure. If implemented, the plan will use wide swaths of lands that are vital to Palestinian development in the area. According to the plan, the location will receive 5 to 8 million cubic meters of solid waste over 20 years. Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara submitted the objection on 30 December 2012.
Adalah argued that the plan, if realized, will prevent the development of 'Anata and Al-'Issawiyya, cutting them off from the Palestinian territories. It will simultaneously improve and privilege connections between West Bank Jewish settlements, area E1, and the Jerusalem municipality. The plan and projections are consistent with the path of the Separation Wall, which divides 'Anata's residential areas from its lands that fall under the plan.
Attorney Bishara emphasized in the objection that the planned landfill will inflict daily harm to the residents from gases, dust, and odors emanating from the waste dump. The plan infringes on the residents’ fundamental rights, including their rights to private property, development, and dignity.
The plan also violates international human rights law, the objection added, as it is changing the character of occupied territory, it is not intended to improve the quality of life for the occupied civilian population, and it is not required for military purposes. Instead, the plan is intended to serve the political goals of the occupying power in the area. The plan's goals are illegitimate, inappropriate, and violate the rules of international law.
