Israel Railways dumped waste on Palestinian land

Israel Railways was taken to task Monday by the country’s Supreme Court “for turning a site near the West Bank settlement of Nili into a dump site in 2011 and not clearing it since”.

According to the report in Haaretz, “two of the justices hinted that they would rule against the railroad in the case”.

The site in question was used for refuse “excavated during the construction of the tunnels for the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem rail line”, with the waste dumped “in a dry river bed, a wadi”, and on some 7.5 acres of open land – half of which is owned by the Palestinians who filed the court petition.

READ: Khan Al-Ahmar flooded with waste water, again

“The landfill was moved to the site as part of a plan to develop a park for the Nili settlement,” Haaretz added.

The report stated that the Israeli government and Israel Railways each claim that the other is responsible for removing the landfill, “an operation that is expected to cost several million shekels”.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the justices “ordered a contractor allegedly involved in transporting the waste from the tunnel excavation sites to be added as a party to the case, but they said it would not significantly delay their ruling on the matter”.