Report: 1,400 Israelis die annually as a result of Palestinian ‘eco-terrorism’

Environmentalist group testifies at Knesset committee hearing that illegal garbage-burning operations in Palestinian Authority towns was linked to the deaths of 1,400 Israelis in a single year, as Israel prepares to crackdown on pirate waste burning sites.

By World Israel News Staff

Air pollution caused by the illegal burning of garbage inside the Palestinian Authority kills over 1,000 Israelis annually, according to a report by an environmentalist group, as Israel prepares to crack down on what one lawmaker has dubbed Palestinian “eco-terrorism.”

Last Thursday, the Knesset’s Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs, part of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, held a hearing on the dangers caused by air pollution originating in the Palestinian Authority.

For decades, numerous towns under Palestinian Authority control across Judea and Samaria have operated pirate garbage disposal sites, regularly burning waste, including plastics, batteries, and other trash containing toxic materials.

The smoke not only impacts the quality of life for Palestinian Arabs, but also harms the residents of Israeli towns both in Judea and Samaria and across the Green Line in pre-1967 Israel.

Modi’in, a city of over 100,000 in central Israel, has been one of the communities hit hardest by the toxic fumes emanating from Palestinian Authority towns.

Thursday’s hearing was convened by subcommittee chairman, MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party), a resident of the town of Yitzhar in Samaria.

Sukkot called the phenomenon “eco-terrorism,” arguing that the practice was maintained not merely to clear waste, but also to deliberately harm the health and quality of life of Israelis.

During the hearing, a representative of the environmental watchdog group Green Now testified that the daily burning of garbage in the Palestinian Authority created toxic fumes which led to a major increase in related deadly illnesses.

The excess deaths linked to the toxic air pollution were estimated at roughly 1,400 in 2023.

Even beyond the increased mortality reported by Green Now, Sukkot lamented that the smoke forces Israelis on both sides of the Green Line to keep their windows closed and avoid going outdoors, out of fear for the carcinogenic substances in the air.

Lawmakers noted that a new pirate garbage burning site has recently been established in Na’alin, near Modi’in, further exacerbating air quality issues in the area.

Earlier this month, the Israeli government launched a new program aimed at combating pirate garbage disposal sites in Judea and Samaria.

The program will be funded with tax money collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority from PA residents employed by Israeli businesses.