Hundreds of Palestinian youth in the occupied Gaza Strip formed a human chain along the blockaded enclave’s only seaport yesterday to draw attention to the growing pollution crisis.
According to CGTN, the initiative – named “It will come back to you” – was “part of a campaign aimed at protecting the basin of the Gaza harbor from growing levels of pollution due to the accumulation of large amounts of solid waste on the shore and underwater”.
Hundreds of Palestinian young men and women in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday formed a human chain, to protect the basin of the Gaza harbor from growing levels of pollution.
Posted by Interpal on Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Shireen Abu Zayed, 25, said:
“Gaza harbor is the only outlet for residents here, unfortunately, Gaza beaches are piled high with waste which threatens humans and fish … We must try as much as possible to reduce pollution levels, and clean up the harbor with the little available capabilities that we have.”
CGTN noted that,
“Sports teams, fishermen and divers also participated in the clean-up event. The divers jumped into the basin below the harbor and collected as much solid waste as possible.”
"This water is a source of pollution and a source of diseases, for the people and also for the environment." Gaza City's water situation is growing more dire by the day. https://trib.al/E2Jw8XK
Posted by Pacific Standard on Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Ahmad Hilles, a consultant of Water and Environmental Issues at the Environmental Quality Authority in Gaza and one of the campaign supervisors, said:
“We organized this initiative to encourage people here to take part in waste collecting activities because we lack the capabilities and the tools to do so.”
#Gaza sinking in polluted seawater and untreated sewage https://t.co/DlnSNZqPDP
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) December 5, 2018
According to Hilles, Israel’s blockade is preventing Palestinians in Gaza from “building waste recycling plants to get rid of the accumulating waste pumped into the sea every day”.
Israël se sert de la pollution comme une arme pour compliquer la vie des Palestiniens à Gaza | TRT Français https://t.co/OsLhJCjMqz
— Claimesou (@CLAIMSOU45490) November 19, 2018
In addition,
“the lengthy power cuts in Gaza have increased the level of pollution resulting from the poorly treated sewage being released into the sea”, with “some 110,000 cubic liters of untreated sewage are pumped into the Mediterranean on a daily basis, according to local authorities”.
The report noted that “the accumulation of solid waste in landfills in residential communities in Gaza” has compelled residents to burn it, thus creating black clouds of smoke that exacerbate air pollution “and the spread of respiratory diseases”.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
