Environmental Nakba

This report by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) documents environmental injustices and human rights violations resulting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine, specifically in the West Bank. Based on a 2012 observer mission, the report argues that land grabs, water appropriation, toxic waste dumping, and the use of nature reserves for ethnic cleansing constitute an 'environmental Nakba'—an ongoing project of colonization and dispossession.

• The report describes an 'environmental Nakba,' where environmental destruction is used as a tool for colonization and ethnic cleansing. This includes the construction of the separation wall, which has destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated Palestinian land and uprooted thousands of trees, as well as the demolition of Palestinian villages to be replaced by forests via the Jewish National Fund.
• Israel exercises total control over the three major aquifers in the West Bank (Eastern, Western, and North Eastern), resulting in a severe water disparity. Less than 15% of the water is abstracted for Palestinian use, while more than 85% is used by Israelis. In the West Bank, average Palestinian water consumption is 73 litres per person per day, which is below the World Health Organization's minimum recommendation of 100 litres, compared to 300 litres in Israel and 369 litres in colonial settlements.
• Land expropriation in the West Bank is carried out through various legal mechanisms, including Ottoman-era laws that allow the state to seize land not in use. In the village of Kafr Dik, 80% of the village's 13,000 dunams of land are under confiscation orders to expand Israeli residential colonies (Pedu’el, Ale Zahav, and Rochim) and an industrial zone.
• The report documents the dumping of toxic and industrial waste in the West Bank. In Qalqilia, a waste site established in 1980 has led to water contamination with lead and 17 poisonous chemicals, with reported high levels of cancer and gynaecological irregularities in the nearby villages of Jayyous and Azzun. Additionally, the settlement of Ariel is reported to dump untreated sewage and industrial waste onto Palestinian agricultural land to render it 'unused' and easier to confiscate.
• Industrial zones in the 'seam zone' (the area between the Green Line and the separation wall) operate with little to no environmental monitoring or Palestinian authority. The Nitzanei Shalom industrial estate near Tulkarem contains eleven chemical factories, including Gishuri, which relocated from Israel to avoid pollution legal actions. These factories employ around 500 Palestinian workers, many of whom earn below the minimum wage.
• Nature conservation is used as a 'green wash' for ethnic cleansing. In Wadi Qana, the area was declared a nature reserve by Israel in 1982, which prevented Palestinians from cultivating their land while allowing Israeli settlements to extract water and dump raw sewage. The report notes a discrepancy in land designation: while the Palestinian Land Research Centre states 3% of the West Bank is a nature reserve, Israel has declared 12% as such.

APA

Al Butmah, A., Peek, B., & Scandrett, E. (2013). Environmental Nakba. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-foei-palestine-report-eng-lr.pdf

Chicago

Al Butmah, Abeer, Bobby Peek, and Eurig Scandrett. Environmental Nakba. Friends of the Earth International, 2013. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-foei-palestine-report-eng-lr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Al Butmah |first1=Abeer |last2=Peek |first2=Bobby |last3=Scandrett |first3=Eurig |title=Environmental Nakba |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=September 2013 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-foei-palestine-report-eng-lr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{albutmah2013environmental, author = {Al Butmah, Abeer and Peek, Bobby and Scandrett, Eurig}, title = {{Environmental Nakba}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-foei-palestine-report-eng-lr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }