What the hell is this about? I mean, Hard feelings between Israelis and Palenstinians is one thing.... But is THIS stuff really TRUE? Burying nuclear waste in the occupied territories? I don't know that the Palestinian National Authority is a totally reliable source, but I doubt that they are making up something about a WHO resolution.
"WHO Condemns Israeli Nuclear Waste Disposal in oPt
GAZA, May 21, 2005 (IPC + Agencies) - - The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the disposal of nuclear waste by Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories and demanded Israel refrain from such actions, during its 58th Assembly that is held between May 15 and 26, 2005.
More below the jump:
WHO approved, during its Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, a draft resolution circulated by the Palestinian Authority and supported by the participating Arab, Islamic and some European delegations.
The resolution demanded a fact-finding committee be sent to the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) to analyze the radiation near border crossings, and inspect the Israeli waste dumps in the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights. ...
This is the first time a resolution is passed by a UN agency while Israel is defined in it as an Occupying Power. It is also the first time such a resolution was approved by all European countries, including England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
...
Dr. Wuheidi had accused the Israeli authorities four days ago of burying 80 tons of nuclear waste 300 meters off the city of Nablus.
According to the Minister, Israeli nuclear waste disposal operations are being concluded in the rest of the cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, especially near cities with high populations such as Nablus, Hebron and Gaza, which would ruin the environment of the area and pollute the aquifer water resources."
The question of disposition of Israeli nuclear wastes has been raised repeatedly in the past. Israel, of course, is not a signatory to nuclear non-proliferation treaties which would provide for inspections.
For example, this source:
"A Jordanian environmentalist expert warned against danger caused by the Israeli Nuclear plant Dimona in the southern desert of the Negev, Al-Jazeera news website reported.
Dr. Sufian Al-Tel, an international environment consultant said the reactor consumed 1400 tons of crude Uranium since it was established in 1971. ...
Speaking in a lecture at the Yarmouk University titled 'Dangers of the Nuclear Radiation and its effect on the Environment' , Al-Tel said "The nuclear wastes are collected from Dimona plant to a place north of Haifa in northern Israel, which is one of five nuclear locations in Israel."
...
He claimed that Israel buried most of its nuclear waste in Palestinian territories, occupied Syrian Golan Heights and in the southern Lebanon.
Apparently radiation measurements have been taken in the area and found to be unacceptably high, as reported here.
The uranium level in El-Khalil valley [Hebron] reaches 237 becquerel (bcq) per kilogram3, which equals about 10 times the permitted concentration, which is 25 bcq. The Thorium 232 (Th) level reaches 152 bcq where the permitted concentration level is also 25 bcq. The readings on Cesium 137 (Cs), another radio-active isotope that only emerges from ... nuclear activities is equivalently high."
This would be raising NIMBY ("not in my back yard) to a whole new (and low) level.