Israel\'s industrial zones polluting Palestinian territories

The settlements\' chemical factories poison Palestinian lands with toxic Toxic inhalation, waste and pollutants emitted from Israeli industrial factories on settlements in the West Bank, has been causing concern amongst  Palestinians, due to the serious harm to the environment and for people\'s health. Five Israeli industrial zones are built on Palestinian territories in the governorate of Silfit, containing 160 factories, which produce aluminum, leather, batteries, plastics, cement, food cans, fibre glass, chemical cleansers, Insecticides, marble, military equipment and other materials not suitable for populated areas.
\"The residues from these factories are causing harm  to health in addition to the environment and natural resources, especially drinking water and  cultivated lands,\" Jamil al-Motawer, deputy director of the Palestinian Environment Administration, told Arabstoday.
He added: \"The industrial drainage of these factories has reached  Palestinian cultivated lands and the water wells from which the sheep and cows drink. This drainage is also leaking into the groundwater resources, Needless to say,  these industrial zones prevent any chance for normal expansion of  Palestinian villages and towns.\"
The Palestinian governorate of Silfit, which includes 23 Israeli settlements, in which there are five industrial zones --  the most harmful being located in the settlement of Burkan. This zone contains factories producing some of the most harmful industrial residue for health and the environment. .
The director of the Palestinian Water Institution, Saleh al-Rabi, told Arabstoday that the industrial zone of Burkan produces more than 800,000 m3 of harmful industrial drainage,  which all finds its way to  Palestinian land and water resources.
\"The most affected villages of this drainage are Kafr el-Deak and Deir al-Ballout, \" Rabi said.
Air pollution is another main threat  which is emitting from Israeli factories, especially the plastics factories, which leaves solid chemical residues that are burnt and dissolved in the air, as well as the leather tanning factories, which leach heavy pollutants into the water.