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Israel stops Germany backed building works in West Bank

August 14, 2018 at 9:51 am

Israel suspended a German-backed construction project to build a landfill site for waste disposal in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah yesterday.

The Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection, Zeev Elkin, informed the German government that residents of illegal Israeli settlements would also use the planned landfill to dispose of their waste.

The German government rejected the Israeli “proposition” since the project is funded for developing countries such as the occupied West Bank.

Additionally, Germany recognises these Israeli settlements as illegal under international law.

READ: German FM warns Israel over cost of occupation

The German government responded by saying that “the [Israeli] minister decided to undermine the project and deprive the Palestinians from benefiting from the German initiative, which helps solve the problem of dozens of existing dumps in random areas of the occupied West Bank.”

Germany has set a deadline, 1 October, for obtaining approval from Israel for the project, otherwise it will refrain from transferring the funds allocated for it.

The funds are an estimate of €10 million ($2.7 million).