Sunday, 6 November 2016, marks the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. The Day is marked in 2016 by Israel’s continued attacks against the environment in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and confiscation of Palestinian land and natural resources, counter to international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory on 5 June 1967, the construction of settlements and the separation Wall in the West Bank, and the closure of Gaza have produced serious harm to the environment. This continues to be the case despite the International Court of Justice’s condemnation of the said policies and practices for their harmful effects in 2004. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food had noted his concern at Israel’s destruction of Palestinian agricultural farms, greenhouses, ancient olive groves and agricultural fields planted with crops, as well as Palestinian homes. The Special Rapporteur noted that the increase in homelessness and loss of livelihood resulting from these practices would limit Palestinian access to food, as enshrined in article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In the Gaza Strip, Israel continues to suppress growth in the agricultural sector by severely restricting movement in Gaza’s buffer zone, which makes up 35 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land, targeting Palestinian farmers and their families with live fire, razing lands, and using herbicides and pesticides to kill crops and destroy agricultural fields. The Israeli authorities’ construction of a floodgate on the Israeli side of the border fence restricts the natural flow of rainwater into the Gaza Strip and depletes Gaza's aquifer in the North Gaza district. When the Israeli authorities periodically open the floodgates into Wadi Gaza valley, the damage to Gaza’s environment is vast, with huge impacts on surrounding plants and birds in particular.

The nearly ten-year Israeli closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip severely restricts the import and export of goods–including within the oPt–raw materials, and equipment needed to (re)build water and sewage systems. The electricity shortage in Gaza remains acute due to the humanitarian failures of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, and while solar panels entry remains restricted due to Israel’s closure, and the Gaza Power Plant remains functioning at a reduced capacity after Israel’s most recent attacks in 2014. Low quality electricity generators are used in many people in the Gaza Strip, to bolster electricity supply, lead to increased pollution to Gaza’s environment.

During Israel’s military operations on the Gaza Strip, which left thousands killed and maimed, the Israeli occupation forces destroyed civilian and public infrastructure en masse, including the sewage and water systems, electricity networks, roads, and bridges. The weapons used in Israeli attacks on Gaza during the past few years contain depleted uranium, which pollutes the water, air, and soil. There have also been instances of phosphorous used densely populated areas. These practices create immediate harm and destruction to Gaza’s environment and have raised serious questions as to whether the increase in cancer cases in Gaza is a direct result of Israel’s harmful policies.

It’s worth mentioning that on 31 October 2016, Al Mezan and our partner organization, Al Haq, submitted a brief to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and Special Rapporteur on Toxic Wastes in light of the upcoming report to the Human Rights Council about the human rights implications of the use of pesticides. The joint brief contained information on the situation of Palestinian farmers in Gaza whose fields and livelihoods have been affected by aerial spraying of chemicals, within the context of closure, by Israeli aircraft and highlighted an ongoing case brought forward by Palestinian farmers through Gisha, Adalah and Al Mezan.

Al Mezan asserts that maintaining a healthy environment remains the basis for enabling access to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.  Al Mezan calls on the international community to intervene to halt Israeli practices and policies that create immediate and long-term harm to the environment in the oPt and to the protected civilians’ ability to access lands and natural resources. Al Mezan asserts that practical steps must be taken to immediate lift the illegal closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip.