Gaza Strip: Bombs Dropped Surpass Those of World War II
Victims of the Israelis attacks, Nov 2024 Photo: Times of Gaza
November 6, 2024 Hour: 1:04 pm
“The occupier used all kinds of weapons and missiles in its aggression, in particular white phosphorus, banned under international law by the UN Conventional Weapons Convention, causing serious environmental damage that threatens human life and living organisms,” the Authority explained in its statement.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority denounced that Israel dropped more than 85,000 tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, more than were dropped during World War II.
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Continued bombardment by the occupying army caused the destruction of vast areas of agricultural land and contamination of the soil with toxic chemicals that hamper agriculture for decades, said a statement issued on the occasion of the World Day for Preventing the Use of the Environment in War and Military Conflict.
“The occupier used all kinds of weapons and missiles in its aggression, in particular white phosphorus, banned under international law by the UN Conventional Weapons Convention, causing serious environmental damage that threatens human life and living organisms,” the Authority explained in its statement.
On the other hand, it referred to the damage to the infrastructure of water sources caused by the leakage of contaminated water into groundwater basins, the harbinger of a health and environmental catastrophe threatening hundreds of thousands of residents for generations to come.
With regard to the West Bank, the Agency denounced Israeli settlements and military training by the occupying army as posing a great danger to the Palestinian environment, as large areas of land are exposed to confiscation, demolition, uprooting of trees and overgrazing.
Waste resulting from military maneuvers causes damage to water sources and air pollution, while at the same time, it is estimated that the settlements pump some 40 million cubic meters of raw sewage into the Palestinian territory annually.
He urged the UN and the international community to take urgent measures to stop the ongoing aggression and prevent the exploitation of the environment for military purposes, and to implement international laws.
The latter include the Geneva Protocol and the Convention banning the use of technical environmental modifications for military purposes to protect the environment and prevent its deterioration as a consequence of armed conflict.
He also called for documenting the environmental violations taking place in the Palestinian territory, as the environmental damage caused constitutes a grave danger to the health of the population and a threat to the future of the entire region. Protecting the environment is not just a marginal issue but a fundamental right linked to the right to a clean, safe and pollution-free environment, and any negligence or neglect of this right exposes humanity to catastrophic consequences that threaten environmental sustainability, the institution concluded its communiqué.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: Aljazeera-DW
