GAZA PULL-OUT GETS CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH FROM UNEP

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