Smotrich declares Palestinian waste fires a national security threat

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as an additional minister within the Defense Ministry with authority over civil affairs in Judea and Samaria, announced over the weekend that Israel will deduct costs from Palestinian Authority funds to address waste fires in the area, calling the issue a threat to national security.

Smotrich said on Dec. 18 that Israel will confiscate Palestinian waste trucks and hire contractors to extinguish fires and remove waste, with expenses deducted from tax and tariff revenue that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. The announcement followed an emergency meeting with Defense Minister Israel Katz and local officials.

The waste fires constitute “environmental terrorism,” the ministers declared. They approved a multi-agency response plan including expanded enforcement powers through military orders and establishment of a waste disposal site in the center of Judea and Samaria.

The P.A. must either remove waste itself or pay for Israeli intervention through fund deductions, Smotrich said. He called the Green Line separating pre-1967 Israel from Judea and Samaria “virtual” and said Israel was “taking responsibility” for the area.

“The process we are initiating will, God willing, bring great progress and lead to the eradication of the phenomenon as soon as possible,” Smotrich said.

The P.A. receives tax revenues collected by Israel under interim peace agreements. Israel has previously withheld funds as a punitive measure.