The Occupation has confiscated 180 dunums of agricultural land from the villages of Deir Sharaf and Qusin, located northwest of Nablus, for use as a trash dump. This comes as the official sanctioning of a practice that has been ongoing since 2002 and has caused extensive damage to the agriculture and health of the villagers.
This September, the Occupation high court issued a decision to confiscate and transform 180 dunums of land from Deir Sharaf and Qusin into a trash dump. Even before the court issued their decision, bulldozers had already started to enlarge and level the targeted land. The presence of a garbage dump in this area is not new, and since 2002 the nearby settlement of Qedumim as well as Occupation industrial zones have used the site as dumping ground.
Following the 2002 and the siege on Nablus, Occupation forces took over a number of areas in the district. Near Deir Sharaf, soldiers set up a military position at a quarry, expelling the owners from the area and confiscating their machinery and equipment. Nearby settlement and industrial zones exploited this situation, and trucks with Israeli markings began to dump trash on regular basis. Residents complained to all available channels, resulting in a temporary stop in the dumping. However, dumping restarted a year later, with trucks arriving during the night.
The garbage dump has caused serious problems in the affected villages. In addition to the confiscated agricultural land, the site is polluting key local water sources, affecting health and crops. A central, high-yield well is located just 250 meters from the site, while five artesian wells fall 700 meters away. Serious health problems have also been reported in Dir Sharaf, which is located 500 meters from the area.
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