Be'er Sheva court halts construction of controversial IDF complex in Negev - Haaretz

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Fri., November 16, 2007 Kislev 6, 5768

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Last update - 16:43 14/11/2007

Be'er Sheva court halts construction of controversial IDF complex in Negev

By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent

tags: environment, Israel

Be'er Sheva District Court on Wednesday issued an injunction halting the construction of a new massive Israel Defense Forces training facility, which began earlier in the day, due to environmental concerns.

The court issued the injunction in response to a petition by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva V'Din). The court will deliberate further on the petition next week.

The Defense Ministry's legal advisor arrived at the site, and ordered construction halted.

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On Sunday the Defense Ministry received final approval to commence construction at the site, located approximately 10 kilometers from the Ramat Hovav industrial zone.

Activists from Green Course, a university students' environmental group, arrived on the scene in order to protest the construction. When they learned of the injunction, they informed the workers of the court's decision.

The environmental groups say that the project was approved without ensuring that the soldiers stationed at the base would not be exposed to harmful pollutants emitted by the nearby industrial zone.

The Ramat Hovav Local Council presented its plan for dealing with industrial waste last week at the Sderot Conference. Council representatives said that by 2010 air pollution emissions from Ramat Hovav smokestacks will be reduced by 95 percent, and other kinds of emissions will be reduced by 66 percent.

The council also said that by next year practically no odor or air pollution damage will be felt beyond its boundaries, and in two years, civilian and military activities can take place with no adverse health effects.

But the council recommended moving the Bedouin living in the area to permanent dwellings. "It's impossible to live in corrugated tin shacks and tents so close to chemical industries," council CEO Yossi Ziv said.

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