Settlers, Palestinians join forces on waste management

Residents of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council and the Ramallah-adjacent Palestinian town of al-Bireh have formed a somewhat unlikely partnership – to protect their joint local garbage site. The site in question is located between the council's communities and al-Bireh. It is managed by the Shomron Environmental Association and funded by the Israeli taxpayers. The Arab residents are responsible for covering the garbage dumped at the site. It is one of the only civilian collaboration ventures in the area. The venture was recently clouded by a Civil Administration decision to shut the site down over its environmental impact. It further ordered that waste from the Jewish communities be dumped at one site, while that of the Arab village be dumped at the Abu-Dis dump site. The al-Bireh municipality petitioned the High Court of Justice against the decision, arguing that it was impractical and that given the satisfactory performance of the current facility "the alternatives offered do not improve the current situation." The petition was initially filed against the Shomron Environmental Association and the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council as well, but both decided to side with the al-Bireh municipality. All three say that the current site must remain active pending a more environmentally-oriented solution. The Honorable Elyakim Rubinstein, Esther Hayut and Yoram Danziger noted that "The court wishes that this kind of consensus on all things." The court gave the Civil Administration two months to devise a solution. Shomron Environmental Association Director Itzik Meir welcomed the decision: "Seeing how the government fails to handle environmental issues, we have been able to reach a deal with our neighbors on a joint venture to protect the environment. This may be a temporary solution, but we agree on it." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter