The High Court of Justice has ordered the state to devise a timetable for a plan that would protect hotels near the Dead Sea from being flooded by rising water levels, it was revealed Tuesday.

The court made the ruling two weeks ago in response to a petition from area hotels detailing the development of reservoir problems since the establishment of the state. According to the attorney Gideon Fisher, the most imminent danger is the threat of flooding beneath the structural foundations of the hotels.

The hotels were established in the 1950s next to the Dead Sea factories' reservoirs. The excessive mineral production at these factories have caused water levels to rise in the reservoirs at a rate of 20 centimeters each year. Although this problem has been apparent for years, no permanent solution has been found.

	Advertisement

At present, there are three options: building a new lagoon with walls that will prevent flooding of the reservoirs, removing the extra salt from the bottom of the reservoirs or demolishing all hotels on the Dead Sea shore and rebuilding them in alternative locations.

Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog was appointed three weeks ago to launch a steering committee charged with presenting the most advisable solution to the government.

Supreme Court judges wrote in their ruling, "there is no doubt that there is an urgent need to act on the hotels' petition."

Hotel owners said they hope the court's ruling will push the government to act urgently to find a solution before further damage is done.