Threatened by Hezbollah, Israel's Haifa Chemicals closing down

Haifa Chemicals announced today that it is closing shop and letting go of its 800 employees after failing to find a reasonable alternative to a large ammonia tank it needs to function which was ordered to be shut down earlier this year.

An Israeli court in February ordered the company to shut down the country’s largest ammonia tank, which has been a point of contention for years, with residents and environmental groups warning it is a major health hazard.

“Haifa Chemicals management decided to close the company and is forced to fire all its employees,” it said in a statement.

The colossal, circular vat is located in the northern port of Haifa, Israel’s third largest city, and can hold 12,000 tonnes of ammonia, which is used in products such as fertilizer and explosives.

Read: Hezbollah to ‘surprise Israel’ at any time

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has previously threatened to strike the ammonia tank with rockets.

Haifa Chemicals is owned by a US holding company Trance Resource Inc (TRI), which is controlled by Florida-based Trump Group. This has no connection to US President Donald Trump.