UN gives clean bill of environment health to Gaza pullout
AFP
Date: 03-30-06
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's withdrawal and the bulldozing of 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip last year left no major environmental damage, allowing Palestinians to maximize uses of the land, a UN agency said.
"By and large, the UNEP scientific assessment report gives the Gaza pull-out an environmental clean bill of health," the UN Environment Program said in a report unveiled in Jerusalem.
"The environmental impact of the former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip was limited and should not constrain Palestinian land-use plans."
Apart from localized pollution and "issues associated with asbestos" the report found no water, land or building contamination, or major sources of hazardous waste that pose significant risk to the environment or public health.
"As long as recommendations concerned with the necessary clean-up are implemented, there are no environmental constraints to Palestinian settlement in the area," the report added.
The UNEP carried conducted the study at the request of the Palestinian Authority to pinpoint areas of concern before resettlement and construction takes place on the bulldozed premises of 38 years of Israeli settlement.
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