Smuggling of Hazardous Israeli Waste into Occupied Palestine: A Deliberate Environmental Crime

Since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, successive Israeli governments have sought to consolidate Israel's military control by establishing several illegal settlements. According to Peace Now, there are currently over 400 Israeli colonial settlements and installations across the West Bank. These settlements aim to seize more Palestinian land, both private and public, and to expand and sustain Israel’s colonial occupation. Other reasons include using confiscated lands for industrial, agricultural, or commercial purposes. Successive Israeli governments have consistently provided financial incentives to encourage settlers to move from Israel into the West Bank. Additionally, Israel uses lands belonging to the State of Palestine as dumping grounds for hazardous waste from over 50 sites, exposing the Palestinian land and people to dangerous substances such as depleted uranium, white phosphorus, and other toxic waste. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities impose strict restrictions on Palestinians and prevent them from establishing waste disposal facilities, forcing them to resort to unsafe practices such as open burning of waste.

Recently, Israeli officials have escalated their threats against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), accusing it of failing to remove waste and demanding that it stop burning practices, which will lead to financial penalties through deductions from the PNA’s tax revenues. They describe the Palestinian practices of open burning as "environmental terrorism" that threatens the national security of Israel. On 22 January 2025, the head of the Central Command in the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), under whose jurisdiction the occupied West Bank falls, signed an amendment to a military order concerning what Israel calls "the threat of waste burnings." The order expanded the power of various branches of authority in the Israeli military occupation to confiscate, penalize, and seize Palestinian vehicles and equipment allegedly used to burn or transport waste. On 4 December 2025, the Israeli Environmental Protection Minister requested $41 million from the PNA to tackle the pollution from waste burning in the West Bank. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities ignore the hazardous industrial waste produced by the illegal settlements and the smuggling of waste from Israel into Palestinian areas, posing severe threats to the environment and public health. Israel is turning the West Bank into a "landfill" or a "sacrifice zone" by transporting hazardous waste, including "sludge from wastewater treatment, medical waste, used oils, solvents, metals, electronic waste, and batteries," to the West Bank.

This catastrophe is not only an environmental crisis but also a deliberate, multi-dimensional crime that violates Palestinian rights, endangers public health, and exposes the failure of international accountability mechanisms over nearly six decades of military occupation.

The smuggling of hazardous waste into occupied Palestine flagrantly violates international agreements ratified by both Israel in 1994 and Palestine in 2015, particularly the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Under international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, the dumping of waste by an occupying Power constitutes a prohibited act, as it endangers the environment and public health. However, enforcement mechanisms of international law remain weak and ineffective in the Palestinian context, representing a grave miscarriage of justice. Additionally, this smuggling contravenes Article 13 of Palestinian Environmental Law No. 7 of 1999, which prohibits the import and transfer of hazardous waste without authorization.

Israeli Waste Smuggling into Occupied Palestine

Integrated solid waste management in occupied Palestine faces severe challenges compounded by the complexities of the Israeli occupation. This geopolitical situation hinders the development of environmental projects and undermines Palestinian efforts to address these issues. One major challenge is the smuggling of solid waste, facilitated by the Israeli occupation authorities, who, for decades, have turned the occupied West Bank into a hidden dumping site.

With full military control over the Oslo-defined "Area C," the occupation authorities ignore the illegal transfer of polluting industries and waste to the West Bank. As a result, this policy reduces costs for Israeli companies engaged in waste treatment and transport. This policy could force Palestinians off their land by creating unviable environmental conditions that undermine their livelihoods, livestock, agriculture, air quality, and water resources. At the same time, Israel restricts Palestinians from developing their own waste landfills and treatment infrastructure, burdening the PNA with responsibility and liability.

A report by B’Tselem noted that the Israeli occupation authorities impose restrictions on releasing official data on the quantities and environmental impacts of waste smuggled into the West Bank. There are no transparent Israeli reports on the quantities of waste generated, the treatment methods used, or the associated risks, which hinder the PNA from objecting to and submitting claims against such illegal activities.

To facilitate these suspicious smuggling operations, the Israeli occupation authorities employ private Israeli companies operating in the West Bank, including but not limited to the following companies:

• Eco Medical: operates in the "Ma’ale Ephraim" industrial zone, treating medical and infectious waste from Israeli hospitals and laboratories.
• Green Oil: operates in the West "Ariel" industrial zone, treating used oils and greases.
• EMS: operates in the "Shilo" industrial zone east of Ramallah, recycling electronic waste and batteries.
• M.T.A: operates in the "Mishor Adumim" industrial zone, treating hazardous chemical solvents.
• Compost Or: operates in the northern Jordan Valley, treating sewage sludge used as fertilizer in settlements.
• Tovlan: a massive landfill in the northern Jordan Valley that receives waste from settlements and Israeli cities.
• Polcom: operates near "Kfar Qaddum" and treats hazardous material containers.
• All Recycling: operates in the "Barkan" industrial zone, treating electronic waste.
• Talos: operates in the "Meitarim" industrial zone east of Khirbet Zanuta in Hebron, treating used oil.
• R.A. Ofek, Green Dunlop, and Zemora: this consortium of companies operates in the "Atarot" industrial zone, treating construction and solid waste.

These companies are believed to be responsible for smuggling approximately 350,000 tons of hazardous waste annually from Israel to the West Bank, with the involvement of transport groups and intermediaries operating across the 1967 borders. Generally, the smuggled waste into occupied Palestine falls into the following main categories:

1. Hazardous industrial waste (chemicals, heavy metals, oils, electronic waste)
2. Mixed solid waste and municipal waste, such as sludge
3. Medical waste containing toxic and carcinogenic materials

One of the most hazardous types of smuggled waste into the West Bank is electronic waste. According to the Madar report, approximately 57,000 to 64,000 tons of this waste are smuggled annually and subsequently burned to extract valuable metals such as copper. These fires release highly toxic chemical compounds, posing serious health risks. The health and economic damages caused by air pollution from waste burning in the West Bank are estimated at between 281.6 and 417 million dollars, encompassing losses in agricultural production, healthcare costs, and environmental degradation.

In the Gaza Strip, several recent media reports describe the IOF disposing of massive quantities of waste (mainly construction debris) within Gaza. Several filled trucks loaded with debris were observed entering Gaza through the Al-Karara crossing (also known as the Kissufim crossing) and unloading rubble on the streets. Currently, it is unclear if the debris contains any hazardous materials.

Example: Waste Smuggling in Qalqilya & Tulkarem Governorates

Palestinian institutions, particularly the Environment Quality Authority (EQA), are exerting significant efforts to confront this phenomenon despite limited capacity and access restrictions in Area "C." EQA, through its regional offices in West Bank governorates and in close coordination with customs officers, usually conducts inspection tours in many hotspot areas of the West Bank governorates. However, these tours have been affected since 7 October 2023, due to increased Israeli restrictions, and because most of the smuggling operations take place at midnight. Many smuggling operations in Qalqilya and Tulkarem are primarily conducted along the road between Jayous and Elnabi Elias villages, on the main road between Ezbet al-Tabib and near the villages of Kafr al-Qaf, Azzoun, and Kufer Jamal. These operations involve tractor-trailers with capacities of up to 20 tons that infiltrate at night, with the IOF's complicity, at military checkpoints near the two governorates without interference.

Environmental Impacts of Waste Smuggling

Israeli waste smuggling causes extensive damage to the Palestinian environment, including but not limited to the following adverse impacts:

• Contamination of surface and groundwater resources through leaching of contaminants, which consequently affects the water supply sources.
• Soil pollution, which reduces the fertility and agricultural productivity of agricultural lands, mainly in the Jordan Valley and in the Qalqilya and Tulkarem governorates.
• Air pollution, which may cause respiratory issues due to hazardous and toxic gases, skin diseases, and an increase in cancer cases.
• General biodiversity degradation, destruction of natural reserves in the West Bank, and harm to wildlife.

Some contamination processes are irreversible. Once they occur, they are extremely difficult to remediate or require a long time (up to hundreds of years) to fully recover. Moreover, environmental effects often unfold over extended periods and have indirect impacts.

Economic Impacts of Waste Smuggling

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, waste smuggling is widely considered a high-profit, low-risk crime worth billions of dollars per year. These profits are generally used to fund corruption and other illegal activities, destabilizing the economy and society. The cost of treatment for each ton of waste can vary significantly based on several factors, including but not limited to:

• Type and volume of waste
• Used technology
• Associated risks
• Time needed, depending on the receptor

The maximum cost of treating each ton of hazardous waste is approximately 131 USD, and, based on approximately 350,000 tons of hazardous waste smuggled annually from Israel to the West Bank, the total cost of treating the smuggled waste could reach approximately 46 million dollars annually. Furthermore, there are other points that can have an impact on the economic level, including:

• Loss of customs duties and taxes on waste handling, transport, and treatment.
• Evasion of environmental levies and compliance fees.
• Increased public expenditure on cleanup and restoration, enforcement, and remediation borne by municipalities or the central government (cutting out development spending).
• Soil, water, and groundwater contamination - reducing agricultural yields and land value.
• Reduced property values in affected areas.
• Foregone alternative uses (industrial zones, agriculture, housing, tourism).
• Informal Economy Expansion
• Growth of criminal and informal networks, weakening formal economic institutions.
• Tax base erosion, as activities shift outside regulated markets.
• Higher healthcare expenditures due to pollution-related diseases.

Conclusion

Despite the efforts of relevant Palestinian institutions, particularly the EQA, to prevent the smuggling of Israeli waste into occupied Palestine, limited capacity and access restrictions in Area "C" hinder these efforts. The State of Palestine considers Israeli waste smuggling a national security threat and is prepared to collaborate with friendly states to form an international coalition to pressure Israeli companies involved in smuggling, hold them accountable, and prosecute them. This approach aligns with global environmental and climate justice discourse, emphasizing the Palestinian environment as an inalienable right. All States Parties to the Basel Convention should fulfill their responsibilities regarding Israeli occupation practices in the Palestinian environment, utilizing international law, human rights mechanisms, and relevant international instruments.