VZCZCXRO8988
OO RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHPB
DE RUEHJM #1328 0901538
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311538Z MAR 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1311
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001328 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR WILLIAMS/GREENE/WAECHTER; 
NEA/RA FOR LAWSON; OES FOR DALEY; NSC FOR ABRAMS, DORAN, 
MUSTAFA; STATE PASS TO USAID/BORODIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAID PREL KWBG
SUBJECT: GAZA PULL-OUT GETS CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH FROM UNEP 
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TEAM 
 
REF: 2005 JERUSALEM 5670 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: United Nations Environment Programme 
(UNEP) announced March 30 that its environmental assessment 
had yielded a "clean bill of health" for the former Israeli 
settlement areas in Gaza.  Key conclusions were that certain 
areas needed minor clean-up and a land use plan.  UNEP said 
the PA needed to develop waste and coastal zone management 
and a monitoring system for groundwater in Gaza.  Palestinian 
Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) head Yusif Abu Safiyeh 
was quoted in the press as saying that he disagreed with the 
"good" results and the methodology of the assessment.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a March 30 briefing, UNEP Post-Conflict Branch 
Chief Henrik Slotte said that, despite some localized 
pollution and issues associated with asbestos in the former 
Israeli settlements, there was no contamination of water, 
land, or buildings that threatened the environment or public 
health.  He cautioned that the Palestinian Authority (PA) 
needed to implement UNEP recommendations and follow-up 
actions in order to avoid potential environmental hazards. 
UNEP was prepared to assist on clean-up activities, training 
on asbestos removal, and the development of relevant 
environmental management plans, he said. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) UNEP Operations Manager Muralee Thummarukudy 
presented the following key conclusions from the assessment: 
 
-- Seven former settlement areas had localized spots of 
contamination, which required further clean-up; 
 
-- In twelve former settlement areas and the Erez industrial 
area, fragments of asbestos debris were identified, and would 
require proper handling for disposal.  UNEP was conducting a 
training seminar on asbestos handling in Egypt for 
Palestinian participants. 
 
-- Eight of the twenty-one former settlement areas had 
associated waste dumps/landfills, which required land use 
restrictions and follow-up actions. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) As for the removal and disposal of rubble, 
Thummarukudy said that UNEP was working with UNDP to carry 
out the task of clearing and recycling 1.2 million tons of 
rubble produced by the destruction of settlement housing in 
Gaza. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Thummarukudy elaborated on several follow-up 
actions for the PA including: 
 
-- Developing  a waste management strategy for Gaza that 
included the disposal of the asbestos debris, handling of 
contaminated soil, and future plans for a number of 
landfills; 
 
-- Carrying out coastal zone management in an integrated 
manner that covered the areas of coastal construction, 
effluent disposal areas, and dune disturbances; 
 
-- Developing land use planning maps and making resource 
allocation decisions based on the information gathered during 
the environmental assessment; 
 
-- Establishing a monitoring system for groundwater in Gaza, 
including the wells in the disengaged areas. 
WALLES