MKs to initiate bill to evacuate area near Negev industrial zone - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Thu., August 23, 2007 Elul 9, 5767

Israel Time: 04:12 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Travel

Sports

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Last update - 21:41 22/08/2007

MKs to initiate bill to evacuate area near Negev industrial zone

By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent

The Knesset Interior and Environment Committee intends to initiate a bill that, if passed, would bring about the evacuation of territory within a five-kilometer radius of the Ramat Hovav industrial zone in the Negev.

Committee Chairman MK Ophir Pines-Paz announced during a tour of the zone for committee members on Wednesday that hazardous materials render the area unsafe.

Should the initiative become law, it would mean that seven unrecognized Bedouin villages would need to be demolished. According to Pines-Paz, such an evacuation could only take place with the consent of the Bedouin residents.

	Advertisement

Members of the Interior and Environment Committee toured several sites in the south known for their environmental questionability. At Ramat Hovav, they were given an in-depth briefing on the toxic explosion that occurred at the Makhteshim Agan chemical plant, which is located in the industrial zone.

The committee members were shown a slide detailing the area around Ramat Hovav deemed hazardous. According to the slide, the training complex the Israel Defense Forces plans to construct near the Negev Junction is located on the edge of the lower-intensity danger zone. However, seven Bedouin villages are scattered throughout the prime danger zone.

The deputy director general of the Environmental Protection Ministry, Moshe Inbar, lamented the existence of a Bedouin school located within the danger zone. A ministry spokesperson said that it was a matter of "luck that the incident at Makhteshim took place during summer break."

Committee members also criticized government inaction in the wake of the explosion, and in particular the fact that a committee has not been established to investigate the incident, and only the factory itself has conducted such a probe.

The head of the Ramat Hovav industrial council, Giora Meyuhas, said that in the last several years, some NIS 1.5 billion has been invested in improving the safety of the zone's factories, which is currently amongst the "best in the world." He says that homes and villages can be built alongside Ramat Hovav fence, and said the IDF should not hesitate to build a base there.

The committee members also criticized the fact that the Ramat Hovav council is represented by three Jewish local council and no Bedouin ones. They demanded the council bring in a representative from the Abu Basma regional council, saying that if they were left with no choice, they would impose such representation through the law.

Later on, the committee members held a discussion on establishing the training grounds on Yeruham local council land. Dr. Ilana Balmeker told the participants that research on air pollution caused by Ramat Hovav has been held up due to budgetary issues, despite the fact that the government called for the research in the framework of its decision to build the IDF base.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Tamir vs. the educators
	Judaism and ZIonism should be taught by seasoned teachers, not national service volunteers.


	The Mayor's visit
	The T.A. Mayor is mistaken in his inclination to root out pubs and restaurants.




1.	How About A Bill To Make The Chemical Industry Pay ?	23:05	\|	T.Estube	22/08/07

2.	How to eliminate the real toxic wastes	23:47	\|	Mark Lincoln	22/08/07

3.	How to eliminate the real toxic wastes try 2	23:49	\|	Mark Lincoln	22/08/07

4.	This is really unique	00:50	\|	Axel	23/08/07

5.	MKs initiate bill to evacuate area near Negev industrial zone	03:31	\|	Martin List,M.D.	23/08/07

6.	MKs initiate bill to evacuate area near Negev industrial zone	03:31	\|	Martin List,M.D.	23/08/07

Today Online


	Abbas: IDF ops prevent progress in peace talks
	Responses: 392


	Rosner: ADL terms Turkish massacre of Armenians 'genocide'
	Responses: 167


	EU resumes fuel shipments to Gaza power plant
	Responses: 117


	Support for Nazi ideas still haunts Germany, says gov't minister
	Responses: 80


	Several Arab countries speed up nuclear projects
	Responses: 104

Rosner's Domain

* The moral majority and the 2008 election

* ADL and the Armenian genocide: The incidental victim

* WTR: yes to "genocide", no to bill

* An epistolary novel: Will Steven's kids get Jewish education?

More Headlines
02:58 Israel proposes W. Bank-Gaza route in land swap


02:58 Crematorium burned down after Haredi paper reveals site


00:15 IDF officer told to pay damages for shooting Palestinian


01:14 Anne Frank Foundation: Right-wing violence soaring in Holland


03:55 Olmert vows to include women in future political negotiations


03:58 Police break up Hamas, Islamic Movement meeting in Jerusalem


02:10 Three Haifa men convicted of murder and kidnapping


22:11 Retired Supreme Court justices slam Justice Minister for reforms


23:46 Poll: Abbas and Haniyeh would face a close election race


21:41 MKs to initiate bill to evacuate area near Negev industrial zone