Report: Poisonous pollution in Israel

The British daily the Independent spoke about the dangers of pollution in Israel resulting from poisonous waste resulted from chemical and nuclear factories, especially near residential aggregations and setlements in the south, Haifa and Tel Aviv.

The Independent reported an Israeli commado, Yuval Tamir, who was doing research established "that 40 other naval commandos who trained in the same place have also developed cancer; of them, 15 have died ≠ a high number for a group that comprises less than 1,000 men. Ten of the local fishermen have also died from ailments which their families believe were caused by the poisonous waters. "

The Independent said "Mr Tamir ought today to be in the prime of his life. A lieutenant-colonel in a diving unit, he was the creme-de-la-creme of the Israeli military. Yet last year, aged 41, he was forced into retirement after contracting colon and skin cancer. "

The report said "Israel's other major rivers ≠ the Jordan, Yarkon, and Alexandria ≠ are also all heavily polluted. This is all the more shocking given the region's lack of water. Israel's limited reserves (some 2bn cubic metres) have become increasingly inadequate, whittled away by a fast growing population, drought, water-guzzling crops, and profligate misuse"

Heads of Israeli local municipal councils in al-Negev district and heads of settlements close to Tel Aviv and Haifa in June carried out demonstrations in which they demanded the transfer of chemical factories from the residential area and to prevent the polluted waters and sewage which bears the waste of factories from reaching the sea which is close to their houses.