The Jerusalem Governorate issued a strongly worded statement warning against the decision by the so-called 'Israeli National Committee for Planning and Building' to actually begin planning procedures for the establishment of a major settlement facility for waste treatment. The Governorate clarified that this project will be built on the lands of Qalandia village, located northwest of occupied Jerusalem, considering the move a dangerous escalation that falls within the policies of annexation and systematic seizure of Palestinian lands.
Sources confirmed that the danger of this plan lies in its exceeding the declared environmental objectives, as its implementation is accompanied by a change in the course of the annexation and racist expansion wall to swallow additional areas of agricultural land. The project aims to directly seize about 278 dunams of citizens' lands, threatening the livelihood of dozens of families who depend on agriculture in that vital area.
According to the technical details of the project, which dates back to 2024, the occupation seeks to establish a massive station for treating plastic and paper waste and flammable materials. The plan aims to convert this waste into electrical energy that is directly pumped to feed the Israeli grid, which observers see as an exploitation of occupied resources and lands to serve the economic and technological interests of the occupation.
_The Jerusalem Governorate_ stressed that the project carries Judaization dimensions aimed at reshaping the geography and demography of the area through forced displacement of residents, as the plan directly threatens 40 inhabited homes. It also warned of the severe health and environmental damage that will result from emissions and pollutants, which will directly affect air and soil quality and the safety of groundwater in the Palestinian vicinity.
In a related context, the statement revealed legal and administrative moves led by the occupation's Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, in April 2025, where he signed notifications to activate old confiscation orders dating back to the seventies and eighties. This step aims to legitimize the seizure of vast areas of land to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the new project and the surrounding industrial areas.
Extensive confiscation operations include about 1200 dunams allocated for the industrial zone known as 'Atarot', including 390 dunams privately owned by the residents of Qalandia village. The plan also included the seizure of an additional 137 dunams under the pretext of establishing a 'security facility', thereby tightening the noose on Palestinian villages and towns in that area and separating them from their natural surroundings.
_The Governorate_ concluded its statement by calling on the international community, the United Nations, and all human rights and environmental organizations to intervene urgently to stop this settlement encroachment. It demanded accountability for the occupation authorities for their continuous violations of international environmental law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the exploitation of the property of peoples under occupation or changing the features of occupied land to serve the occupying power.
The project represents a clear example of what is known as environmental racism, and constitutes a blatant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
שתף את דעתך
Warnings of a Waste Treatment Settlement Project Threatening Qalandia Lands in Jerusalem