Worldwide, little attention is given to the state of nature and natural resources in situations of armed conflict. Because of the human disaster involved, there is often a reluctance to focus on the environmental consequences. Nevertheless, there is no reason to assume that nothing can be done to conserve natural resources and biodiversity. It is sometimes assumed that nature conservation must be in conflict with the rights and traditions of peoples on their domains. In reality, where peoples are interested in the conservation and traditional use of their lands, waters, territories and the natural and cultural resources that they contain, conflicts need not arise. Formal protected environmentalists all over the world can provide means to recognize and guarantee the efforts of many communities who have long protected certain areas such as sacred groves and mountains, urgently requisite to be accredited in the sacred Palestine.

The recent crisis has entailed-in addition to violating civil and political rights of Palestinians from Israeli government, serious axis and conundrums on socio-economic, agricultural, health, cultural and environmental rights that have dramatically been regressed and deeply affected the whole living circuit and resulted in significant losses for the Palestinian assets and morale.

In Volume One, Ministry of Environmental Affairs (MEnA) has documented most of the Israeli aggressions against the unarmed people of Palestine and against their innocent environment over the period of Sept 28 through Nov 9, 2000. Since then, violence has engulfed our country and Israeli militias have escalated the fierce attacks against the Palestinian people, their agricultural assets, their existing infrastructure, and, nonetheless, their environment. This report seeks to quantify the losses and analyze the turbulence incurred on several levels, including, but not exclusive to, human resources, social life, infrastructure and environment.

All listed impacts and consequences in this report may be priced to some extent, but the damage to sacred places, the fear among children and women, psychological stress and loss of life cannot be appraised in financial terms. For now, people need to deal with their grief and trauma immediately. We must provide services addressing issues of death, loss, violence, stress and crisis management. Not only must we bury our dead and heal our injured; there are emotional, psychological and social wounds which must be tended to as well.

B. CLOSURES AND CURFEWS
A strict Israeli imposed closure remains in place throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel implements a two-tiered policy of closure: General closure has been in place since 1993 that prohibits Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza from entering Israel and East Jerusalem unless they obtain a special time-limited permit. Since the beginning of the current uprising, all of these permits have been revoked, causing high unemployment rates, as thousands of Palestinians are unable to reach their place of work inside Israel. Meanwhile, general closure impedes Palestinians from travelling freely within the Palestinian Territories by slicing the territories into three detached areas; the Gaza Strip and two parts of the West Bank - north and south -and Israeli-controlled Jerusalem.

At the same time, a policy of internal closure has been periodically invoked over the past several weeks to seal Palestinian villages and towns, prohibiting movement between urban centers and literally imprisoning entire communities in their villages or towns. Forty (40) new military checkpoints within Gaza Strip have been erected, in addition to the control over 40% of the strip (146 m2) of settlement and surrounding areas, whereas the West Bank has been turned from a one geographic continuum into almost twenty seven (27) isolated zones by assembling an estimated 120 new added military posts. Keeping in mind that the Palestinian controlled zones (i.e. Area A) comprise only 2.70% of the whole of the West Bank (viz. 160 km2 out of 5842 km2). These new military outposts have further divided this minute land. Most cruelly, Hebronites have been under total closure and curfew since the beginning of the uprising, completely barred from leaving their homes.

Israel has made clear its intention to 'punish' the Palestinian National Authority for 'failing to contain the violence' by economic strangulation, a policy that serves to collectively punish the entire Palestinian population. This policy will continue to have a disastrous effect on the Palestinian economy and seriously impedes access to schools, medical care, and food. These conditions make it impossible for many Palestinians to continue with their lives and deprive them of fundamental economic, social and cultural rights; for children to attend school and play outside; for people to work and support their families; and for parents to rear their children in a safe and healthy environment. All these forms of collective punishment are, supposedly, prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Amnesty International is worried because of the prevailing situation, and support dispatching international protection and observer force to the Palestinian occupied territories, reports pna.net, after Amnesty International staff has been denied entry into Gaza for two days in the period from 23-25/11/2000. Along the same lines and within the same period, the Red Cross Society criticized Israel for restricting the movement of the Palestinian people and freezing large sums of money collected by Israel and belonging to the PNA.

Mary Robinson, the UN human-rights commissioner, witnessed first hand the extreme difficulties facing the Palestinian people when she was blockaded from touring Gaza freely and when was attacked by Israeli settlers in Hebron during her visit to the occupied territories early in November. At a meeting of Palestinian human-rights groups in Gaza, Mrs. Robinson remarked that rarely had a people been in so obvious need of international protection.

The situation has become particularly difficult in the Gaza Strip, where petrol and fuel supplies have almost run out. A number of areas are suffering from lack of basic necessities as a result of the strict closure and economic strangulation witnessed by Gaza and detrimentally by the West Bank.

C. HUMAN RESOURCES

Arrests of Children
Israeli law and regulations provide for the special treatment of juvenile offenders, i.e. children under the age of 18. Police Standing Order 14.01.05 sets down the following procedures:
o In general children are to be brought by their parent or guardian for investigation to a police station;
o Questioning of children must generally be done during the day;
o With certain exceptions, the questioning of a child is carried out by a specially-trained police youth officer;
o Children are not to be handcuffed except in extraordinary circumstances, such as if the child is known to be violent has attempted to abscond from lawful custody in the past, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that the child will tamper with evidence.

Amnesty International in its report titled Mass Arrests and Police Brutality indicates that the police have not followed their own procedures when arresting and detaining Palestinian children. As a matter of routine, the police have arrested children rather than inviting them for investigation to police stations with their parents. Children have often been arrested late at night or early in the morning and interrogated soon after they reached the police station. Children have been handcuffed following arrest and during interrogation. Children have been reportedly beaten by police officers.

Lawyers affirm, with evidence, that in many cases children had been interrogated by ordinary interrogators or by a combination of ordinary interrogators and a special youth investigator. A great deal of psychological pressure had been placed on some children - they had been shouted at, insulted and threatened during interrogation. Such conduct contravenes international standards, including Principle 21 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and Article 40(2)(iv) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit taking undue advantage of the situation of detained persons for the purpose of compelling them to confess, incriminate themselves or provide information against other people. The police's behavior in such cases also contravenes Article 37(c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which states: "Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age..."

Neither Israel nor much of the international media is actually interested in disclosing some very basic facts that help explain the large presence of children in conflict: that 60% of Palestinians are below the age of 15, that Palestinian children grow up beneath the boot of occupation, that on a daily basis they watch Israeli soldiers demolish their homes, beat up their fathers, mothers, and brothers, confiscate their land, imprison and torture their relatives, that Israeli settlers act with impunity terrorizing their villages, and uprooting their crops. Of course to mention this would be to humanize the Palestinians too much, and when you do that, then people actually begin to see that the Palestinians are the victims of a great systematic oppression, living beneath a brutal occupation in which their means of defense are often limited to stones (www.pna.net).

Schools
Two schools were evacuated on Nov. 20 in Balata Refugee camp after suspicious objects were reported in the schools. Palestinian security personnel identified the objects as explosive devices that explode upon touch. A similar object exploded when a 7-year-old child found it and began playing with the object, resulting in serious injuries to the child. Israeli media also reported earlier that week that Israeli settlers and Jewish fundamentalist groups are forming cells to plant explosives in Palestinian towns and villages.

Israeli soldiers also attacked several schools in Gaza strip, Jenin, Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah while classes were in session; throwing gas canisters into the school and shooting live ammunition. Following the attacks, the Israeli military entered the schools while students were still trapped inside and started beating a number of students, and collected all of the gas canisters thrown during the attacks. In several incidents, numerous students have suffered from gas suffocation while in few others no injuries were reported, but the school was shot down and students sent home for their safety.

Assaults against Healthcare Professionals
UNRWA states that the continuing Israeli encirclement of the Palestinian occupied territories is causing severe shortages in medical supplies in Palestinian hospitals. Medical equipment and large amounts of medicine and baby milk destined for PT are not allowed into the Palestinian territories. Several sources report that on Nov. 21, the medicine is detained at Al- Areesh airport in Sinai- Egypt waiting for clearance to move it into Gaza.

Ambulances were unable to reach those injured in the confrontations because of continued shelling and designated snipers in the conflict areas. In places where bombardments were taking place, first aid directions were administered over the phone to those in need of assistance. Israeli settlers attack and prevent Palestinian ambulances transporting patients to arrive to the respective hospitals. One of these ambulances was that which was transporting Jadou' Mani' Jadou' Abu Ikbash, 16 years old from Samou', Hebron, who was shot by live ammunition to his chest. The ambulance was detained for over four hours before it was allowed to proceed. Jadou' died of his injuries.

These infractions have surpassed the children and ambulance drivers to reach the healing souls of doctors. Dr. Harry Fischer, a 50 year old German doctor, married to a resident of Beit Jala and living in the village for almost 20 years, was killed while attempting to assist those injured during one of the repeated attacks. He was hit directly by a tank shell, killing him instantly. Moreover, Israeli occupation authorities prevent injured Palestinians from returning home after they received medical treatments in neighboring hospitals.

Figure 1: Palestinian Red Crescent Society under Attack.

Assassinations
Raed Sa'di Jameel Al Muhtaseb, 25 years old from Hebron, was killed the evening of Nov. 10 by heavy machine gun fire while in his car. He was traveling in his car with his father when live ammunition hit him through his car, killing him instantly. This gruesome and new escalation of the already horrifying situation against unarmed civilians have broken all rules and had to be inspired by a well trained and provided for sadist who is able to sleep at night after killing a whole society through murdering its individuals. In Gaza, the sadist military opened fire from tanks stationed on the road between Rafah and Khan Younis on the entrance to Miroge settlement at two Palestinian cars. According to eyewitnesses, the shooting lasted for approximately four minutes and resulted in the death of four passengers and the injury of eight others. The corpses of those killed were held by the Israeli military for at least four hours before they were handed over to the Palestinian Authority. The fate of those injured and their exact number, having been immediately removed from the scene of the incident by the Israeli military, remains unknown.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reports that as of Dec. 10 the total death have reached 288 and the injuries are 10330, in accordance with the following charts imported from www.Palestinercs.org:

The question is not why Palestinians target settlers and soldiers, but why the settlers and soldiers are in the middle of Palestinian land in the first place. We are talking about an Israeli government that subsidizes housing and provides benefits to Israeli families to come and settle on confiscated Palestinian land, against International law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. And when Palestinians resist such onslaughts (in resistance protected by International Law) they are termed terrorists who seek the death of Israeli children.

Cynicism however cuts both ways. One must be reminded then of the IDF spokesperson, who recommends to those who "don't want his children to be hurt" not to "send them to a front where a war is going on", that this also applies to places where an occupation is in full swing. (www.sis.gov.ps)

D. PALESTINIAN WORKFORCE
The short-term economic losses in such a situation are difficult to measure. But they include reduced income to workers, farmers and business people who cannot reach their places of employment in the PT and the reduced output and revenues for commercial and business enterprises which are unable to obtain inputs and/or access output markets. Moreover, the uncertain security situation has reduced tourist-generated income. As the crisis persisted, the extent of these types of losses became more pronounced.

In its report about the situation, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Occupied Territories (UNSCO) states:" In addition to the internal losses, the border closures have effectively halted the outward flow of Palestinian labor. In the first half of 2000, there was an average of about 125,000 Palestinians employed in Israel and Israeli settlements and industrial zones on a daily basis. The average worker was earning a daily wage of about NIS 110 or about USD 27.50. As a group, these workers were earning approximately USD 3.4 million each day. These losses consist of: 1) the dampening effects on the production and circulation of goods (inputs and outputs) and services in the PT estimated at USD 148.0 million. These include losses incurred due to impediments to internal and external trade; 2) the labor income lost by workers (and their households) due to their inability to reach job sites in Israel and Israeli settlements and industrial zones. This loss is estimated at USD 38.2 million. While lost labor income is irretrievable, and the rise of a new social class of poor is immeasurable, some of the domestic output/income losses may be recuperated once internal and external trade resumes."

These reports stem from atrocities that take place on the ground by real criminals against real people. Early in the morning of Nov 16, the Israeli military stopped a car of Palestinian workers outside of the central Hebron area while on their way to work. After stopping the car, two of the workers, Ihsein Mohammad Mustafa Al Barada'ieyeh and Youssef Mohammad Abdel Latif Ghenimat, were shot at close range by Israeli soldiers. The two were then taken by the Israeli military to a hospital inside Israel. Both are reported to be in critical condition. The remaining workers in the car were arrested. Later on that day, the military destroyed and completely dismantled the vegetable market of the city in a move seen to be an indication of the expansion of the settler installments in the middle of the city (Palestinian News Agency, WAFA).

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian fisherman and residents have been prevented from reaching anywhere near the coastline by an Israeli attack helicopter hovering low in the area. Anyone attempting to approach the seacoast is shot at with heavy machine gun fire from the helicopter.

E. SETTLERS' ATTACKS
Settlers' attacks continued regularly throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Settler groups allover Gaza and West Bank carried out extensive assaults against civilians, where several Palestinians have been seriously injured and hospitalized of severe beatings by settlers.

Addameer.org reports that Jewish settlers and Israeli occupation forces use laser guided missiles and bullets in killing Palestinians at night and in the darkness. Elsewhere, a Jewish settler woman protected by Israeli occupation soldiers fires at Palestinian civilians downtown Hebron and injured two people on Nov. 21. It was later reported that she was the same settler who attacked Mary Robinson's convoy with an iron pipe while touring H-2 section of Hebron.

Nov. 13, 2000 Ma'ariv and Al-Hayatt Al-Jadeeda newspapers report that in West Jerusalem, tens of thousands of right wing Israelis demonstrate calling for more Palestinian blood. The government of Barak is led by the nose and is forced by Israeli right wing to inflict more damage and to massacre more Palestinians to quench the thirst of Jewish right-wingers.

The Palestinian people and a good majority of the Israeli public in Israel are facing a sick mentality calling for more massacres, more bloodshed and more revenge. While the Palestinian people are asking for an international force to come in to protect the Palestinian people and help arrange for ending the Israeli occupation and the removal of the Jewish settlements inflicting havoc in the Palestinian occupied land, tens of thousands of Israeli extremists headed by Sharon, sharansky and Jewish settlers were shouting death to the Arabs in West Jerusalem, and calling on Barak's government to " Let the IDF win."

F. ISRAELI PROVOCATION AND EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
There is an international consensus that the recent events in the Palestinian occupied territories were ignited by Israeli provocation and have been exacerbated by the excessive use of lethal force by Israeli security personnel. According to an Amnesty International report of 19 October, Israeli troops have violated not only international standards for law enforcement officials, but also Israel's own internal rules of engagement for the occupied territories.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights most recently affirmed this in its resolution of 19 October condemning the "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" by Israel against Palestinian civilians - actions which it determined constitute 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity'. This reinforced UN Security Council Resolution 1322 of 7 October calling for Israel to "abide scrupulously by its legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention…" and condemning "the excessive use of force against Palestinians…."

Figure 2: Excessive Use of Military Force.

Despite the consensus that Israeli actions against the Palestinian civilian population constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, to date the international community has failed to take concrete steps to ensure the security of Palestinian civilians. This has been a serious shortcoming of the states of the world and may indeed constitute a violation of their own obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention to "ensure respect" of the Convention. (www.addameer.org)

MEnA welcomes the pronouncements of the international community on Israel's wanton and excessive use of force against Palestinians, including many children. However, we urge international bodies to expedite the processes of investigation and intervention mandated by their pronouncements, and implore the states of the world to take immediate action on behalf of Palestinian civilians to stop the killing and ensure the security of our people.

G. DEPLETED URANIUM WEAPONS
A new threat to sustainable environment, the food chain and the human's own existence has been appended to Israel's daily aggression against Palestinians and humanity. This threat is Depleted Uranium.

The same venomous mode of thought that permitted monstrous radiation research to be performed on poor people, the mentally retarded, pregnant women, soldiers, and prisoners without their knowledge-has now created the new victims of depleted uranium (DU). Don't be misled by the term "depleted uranium." Like "spent fuel" from civilian reactors, depleted uranium is highly toxic and carcinogenic and has a half life of some 4.4 billion years. DU, much like natural uranium from which it hardly differs, is both radioactive and toxic. DU is a waste product of the process that produces enriched uranium for use in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants.

Because it is extremely dense-1.7 times as dense as lead--when turned into a metal DU can be used to make a shell that easily penetrates steel. Another physical property is that depleted uranium spontaneously burns on impact, creating tiny aerosolized particles less than five microns in diameter, small enough to be inhaled. At least seventy percent of the uranium in these weapons is released in this form on impact, and these tiny particles travel long distances when airborne. Medical tests prove that continuous exposure leads to cancers to memory loss chronic pain, fatigue and birth defects. (www.aicenter.org)

A 1995 report from the U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute, entitled the "Health and Environmental Consequences of Depleted Uranium in the U.S. Army" stated, "If DU enters the body, it has the potential to generate significant medical consequences. The risks associated with DU in the body are both chemical and radiological".

When DU burns, this spews tiny particles of poisonous and radioactive uranium oxide in the air. The small particles can be ingested or inhaled by humans for miles around, and even one particle, when lodged in a vital organ, can be dangerous.

Since this latest Intifada started, Israel has imported the newest and most advanced machinery and weaponry, as reported in the Jerusalem Post, including dumdum bullets and CS gas. The International Action Center believes it also includes depleted- uranium weapons. The effect of dumdum bullets and CS gas is immediate, easily shown and obvious. Using radioactive and toxic depleted-uranium weapons is an additional crime that has an insidious long-term effect, not only on combatants and civilians in the vicinity, but also over a broad area and to the general environment.

On Dec. 14, 2000, the Palestinian Minister of Environment has delivered a press conference in which he unveiled the Israeli violations of Palestinian environment through using internationally banned weapons and burial of radioactive waste in the fertile land of Palestine. He declared that the President is extremely concerned about the issue and ordered the formulation of a national committee to follow up on this matter and take the necessary actions to nullify these aggressions and minimize their impacts.

Figure 3: Damaged Infrastructure and Missiles' Remains.

In the same concern, Mr. Assem Makhour's, member of the Israeli Kenesset, and others' importuned the Israeli Prime and Defense Minister to answer whether the army uses DU in its attacks against the Palestinians or not. He (viz. Barak) has declined to answer. However, compelling evidence point in the direction of DU use in the military operations.

Given Israel's own nuclear program and well-developed military industry, the likelihood is that Israel is a manufacturer of DU ammunition. The firm Rafael of Israel is named in numerous reports as being such a manufacturer. But even if this were not the case, Israel has been able to import DU weapons from the United States.

Knowing the prevailing mentality of the Israeli government, the general staff would want to try out their weapons under all conditions, especially in combat. Now that they are firing at homes and offices in an attempt to punish the Palestinian leadership, they would want to see if DU shells penetrate concrete as they do steel and if this makes a difference in battle.

Whether from shells or from the scrapings from tanks moving around the countryside, radioactive materials enter into the land, the water and the whole food chain, contaminating the densely populated West Bank and Gaza, where water is a scarce resource. Wanton radioactive contamination of this region is a crime against all of humanity and a threat to the entire region now and for generations to come.

MEnA urges scientists, doctors, environmentalists, and mothers of soldiers who know of the use of DU shells to come forward with definitive proof that the Israeli military has at least tested DU weapons in its attacks on Palestinian offices and homes and to end this terror against humanity contiguously. In addition, MEnA urges environmental and other international and regional organizations to open a public query in this matter against Israel.

H. INFRASTRUCTURE
The Israeli occupation forces place more Palestinian towns and villages behind barricades and large concrete blocks, destroy roads by digging trenches in them, damaging in the process infrastructure services such as telephone and electricity cables. The Israeli besiege is reducing the amount of essential supplies in the occupied Palestinian territories, as more than 50% of the Palestinian work force are out of work, people are using their last remaining savings to purchase basic supplies, the purchasing power in the cities is reduced to 25%, and many families are doing with subsistence living particularly in remote villages and in the refugee camps.

At approximately 6pm in the evening of 19/11/2000, electricity throughout Gaza was cut, following which the Israeli military attacked with helicopter gunships, boats and tanks Gaza City, Jabalya Refugee Camp, Beit Lahiya, Deir Al Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah. Over 100 Palestinians were injured in the attack lasting over three hours, which resumed shortly afterwards. A large number of homes were damaged in the attacks. In Shate (Beach) Refugee Camp, a missile fired from Israeli helicopter gunships landed directly in the middle of a home in the refugee camp, injuring the entire family of four. Parents and many children were reported to be in critical condition, with their homes were completely destroyed.

Figure 4: Brutality of Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Elsewhere, two Palestinian homes in Beit Jala were burned by Israeli tank fire on the city. Many other homes were damaged as Israel continues its indiscriminate shelling of Beit Jala, and the surrounding area. This incident took place on Nov. 27 but I was reluctant to give it that date due to the fact that this bombing of the city and all around the Palestinian Territories has become a daily hobby of the Israeli militia. Every night, men, women, kids and elderly people alike loose their sleep to the sound of the heavy artilleries used in the continuous shelling of every town center. Even when there are no bombing campaigns, Palestinians still loose their sleep over the idea of what might the Israeli air force might be planning and whether or not they'll be their next targets.

Following the incessant intensive missile attacks by the Israeli military on Gaza, all main and agricultural roads connecting the southern and northern areas of Gaza have been sealed off by the Israeli military, with additional tanks deployed at all major crossing points. Red Cross Society reported that the Israeli military is preventing anyone from traveling along the main roads in Gaza, including ambulances, Red Cross vehicles and humanitarian aid.

It was not enough for the Israeli bombardment of Gaza to have caused extensive damages to the electric and communications installations in the city, they have destroyed several homes, uprooted more trees and flatten huge areas of fertile land in Gaza, in addition to demolishing factories and workplaces. Al-Ayyam newspaper reports that METALKO Aluminum factory was completely destroyed by Israeli bulldozers yesterday (i.e. Nov.22).

On the same day, Israeli occupation forces opened heavy machine gun fire at the world-renowned archeological treasure in Jericho. Hisham Palace with its long culture and history that survived the Roman era and all the weathering actors have sustained massive wounds from the Israeli gunfire in the city.

In the current Intifada, Israel has adopted a new strategy of intimidation through continuous bombing of residential areas in the congested Palestinian cities. These aggressions have deeply affected women, children and elderly civilians who are more likely to be in the houses during the random attacks. Al-Quds newspaper in its daily edition dated Nov. 13 has reported that a mother with her infant was admitted to hospital as a result of inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli military directly into her home. In Hebron, an elderly woman and her daughter have been admitted to Al-Ahli hospital suffering from a nervous breakdown due to the intensity of the shelling of their house while being trapped inside on the night of Nov. 26.

To Jews in Israel, government, people and occupation army, Palestinian life does not count, it is worthless, perhaps it is worth two agorots (equivalent to ¼ of a penny), this is what an Israeli judge made an Israeli soldier pay for killing a Palestinian. Early in the current Palestinian Intifada, Israeli military strategists allowed their snipers to shoot Palestinian children in the upper parts of their bodies, in their hearts, heads and eyes. Hundreds of Palestinian children were massacred by the Israeli occupation gunfire and snipers. Later on, sensing this deterrence policy on its own would not work, the Israeli army strategists brought in the helicopter gunships and began bombing Palestinian positions both civilian and governmental. A while later, they deployed the tanks and began discriminate bombardments of Palestinian residential areas, it began in Biet Jala and now, tanks bombard each and every town, city and village in Palestine on daily basis. This is not enough, a new strategy was added, this time by selecting Palestinian targets and eliminating Palestinian individuals accused of 'fermenting' the Intifada. Assassination and elimination of Palestinian individuals and activists is top of the Israeli military strategist these days. This will not work neither. So what is next?

I. AGRICULTURE SECTOR
The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture reported on Nov 27 that Israel uprooted 44,000 trees in the past eight weeks. The Israeli occupier is uprooting olive trees, grapevines, palm trees, almond, oranges, figs, strawberry, guava, banana, eggplant and other types of fruit trees. It is also calculated that within the period of Nov. 9 through Nov. 27, the Israeli "Anti-Crops" army has flattened well in excess 70.0 hectares in the Palestinian Territories. This might strike the emergency cord within the larger countries, but it is of a paramount importance to us, smaller countries. The West Bank, for example is comprised of 582,200 hectares of which Palestinians inhibit only 3.67%. Israeli colonies, closed military areas and bases or nature reserves (declared for military purposes) or forests occupy the remaining 52.06%. Only 6% of the 21,345 hectares is designated as agricultural land. That is 1,282 hectares in total (MEnA). It is apparent, now, that any bulldozing of any agricultural land, no matter how small it may seems, carries an enormous consequences as far as the Palestinians are concerned.

The following occurrences exemplify some of what has taken place during the past few weeks and are not conclusive to all the incidents that took and will take place: the Israeli authorities bulldozed throughout the day (Nov. 15) large areas of agricultural lands, farms and Palestinian homes throughout the Gaza Strip. In one incident in Rafah, a family whose lands were being bulldozed attempted to protest against the Israeli authorities, when the Israeli military fired a shell from a nearby tank, injuring 6 children in the head with shrapnel. They are in critical condition (Addameer.org). Elsewhere in the West Bank, In Salfit, at least 6.0 hectares of olive groves were bulldozed and trees uprooted, and a water cistern supplying water to a number of orchards was destroyed.

Figure 5: Even the Trees Didn't Survive the Israeli Aggression.

Israeli settlements and settlers play a major role of the destruction of the Palestinian fertile land and environmental habitat. In Bethlehem as is in every Palestinian town, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian residents either traveling on major roads, attempting to harvest olive orchards, or in residential areas continue, in addition to the destruction of Palestinian agricultural lands. In Beit Ummar, settlers bulldozed and destroyed a large vineyard, uprooting hundreds of grape vines. In an instance dated Nov. 26th, the Israeli military bulldozed approximately 6.0 hectares of Palestinian lands along all settler by pass roads, clearing a distance of approximately 200 meters on each side of the roads, uprooting any trees in the area in order to combine them with the already existing and expanding settlements.

J. BIODIVERSITY
Much of the Palestinian life depends on the essential goods and services provided by the variety of genes, species, populations and ecosystems. The natural ecosystems provide support for human activities in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry traditional and pharmaceutical health products, tourism and many others. These systems are essential also for their aesthetic and intrinsic value, the stabilizing effect of the ecosystems and the protection of the integrity of the overall environment.

During the uprising and following the Israeli regime of diversifying the macabre techniques and targets of its organized and well-meditated aggression, Fauna and Flora of Palestine have ended up in the same place that more than 220 martyrs have ended up in- buried. In Gaza, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda newspaper reported that Israeli bulldozers have buried 5000 chickens in Dir al Balah along with tens of goats and more than 200 trees. Health officials warn against a health disaster due to the accumulated corpses that could've not been collected. Elsewhere in the strip, pigeon farms on rooftops have been wiped out by Israeli bombardment that took place on Nov. 27. Fishery sector has reportedly loss an access of 1,000,000 USD due to continuous closure.

In the northern Governorates of the West Bank and in Gaza, the Israeli bombardment has burned a big pet store where rabbits, birds, fish, puppies and kittens along with different types of flowers and roses have been set ablaze. And in Jericho, where Beehive loss has increased to 500,000 USD, Bedouins' tents have been destroyed along with cattle farms in an area majoring 120 square meters.

As for the Israeli -declared nature reserves in the West Bank, Palestinians have only access to 15%of the total 85% of the Eastern Slopes. Likewise, they have been used by IDF as military camps occupied for training and military purposes, which is against all international environmental rules, frames and standards.

K. SOLID WASTE
An average of 20 ton/day of medical waste is being produced and stored in an unhealthy way due to closure. The accumulated wastes and the inability of municipalities to access the designated landfills have led to burning almost half of the generated waste, a practice that entails an estimated 3.50 million USD loss, according to MEnA sources. These sources also estimate the overall economic loss in the environmental sector has reached, if not surpassed, 20 million USD as of Dec 1, 2000.

The Solid Waste crux augment in terms of collection, inability to transfer and the use of unauthorized landfill sites by Palestinians, whereas Israelis have gained an illegal access to the Palestinians' land fills to dispose of their own waste there. The accumulation of waste in unauthorized sites which were previously closed (i.e. Ramallah dumping site) may cause more environmental damage when more rain percolates in the region. These environmental damages are embodied in Qalquilia where the accumulated waste has led to the flooding of the Wadi containing it into the surrounding agricultural lands.

Figure 6: Accumulated Solid and Hazardous Waste which might lead to Further Loss of Biodiversity Feeding on it.

More imminent problem is looming in Nablus where all access has been denied to the county's healthcare waste incinerator, resulting in large amounts of waste left unmanaged and may be disposed in open lands and/or mixed with domestic waste.

More importantly is the problematic nature of the waste disposed by the Israelis into the Palestinian landfills. The fear of disposing of hazardous material is paramount, since a large shipment of toxic waste shipment was denied access into Jordanian territories and other alternatives are being sought. One site was the Syrian Golan Heights and the others are feared to be within the Palestinian Territories. Several attempts were pursued to classify the nature of disposed waste but to no avail, for the Israelis have placed a strict closure and intensive military presence at the sites of disposal.

L. WATER AND WASTEWATER
According to Palestinian Hydrological Group (PHG), more than 20 towns have suffered from extreme water shortage due to:
· Road closure and military checkpoints that prevented water tankers from distribution.
· Turning off the water supply originated in the nearby settlements.
· Israeli National Company has nullified the water provision for Palestinian counterparts, responsible for distribution.

The inability to provide maintenance services to wastewater systems, as reported in Tulkarem and other towns, lead to the escape of raw sewage into the agricultural land, wadis, and possibly to the ground water aquifers.

Figure 7: Flowing Sewage Due to Wastewater Treatment Plants Isolation.

Furthermore, the stored material for Salfit's new wastewater treatment plant was a target for two Israeli rockets. Not mentioning the inclusive financial loss, the replacement of the abolished equipment will definitely set back the implementation of the project for an unknown amount of time.

The inability to transfer the seepage from cesspits in a number of villages especially in the Ramallah area has led to:

- Social complications due to the flooding of some of these pits on the houses grounds;
- Further economic difficulties as drivers now asking for multiplication of the rate by five times and more due to the high risk they take in trying to get out of towns and villages;
- Contamination of new sites including Wadis and agricultural land; and
- The creation of new breeding sites for insects in a number of places.

Elsewhere, in Gaza residents have reported that numerous wells and cisterns have been collapsed and buried as a direct result of the land leveling by Israeli bulldozers. And Israeli troops have prevented local people from reaching nearby springs to get their daily share of water.

M. CONCLUSION

Israel is committing genocide against a whole population. This is not exaggeration, because the killing is not just only physical, it is also psychological and emotional.
Israel has gotten away with not implementing United Nation Security Council resolutions for so long now. The result is causing perpetual Palestinian agony and suffering, causing numerous daily deaths and injuries of Palestinians confronting the Israeli occupation army.

Palestinian children are overwhelmed with sadness, traumas and confusion. A new generation is being raised surrounded by hate, killings, massacres and economic hardships. The irony of the Israeli mentality is that it will blame everybody else for the current state of affairs engulfing the Middle East. Never does it blame itself, nor does it blame its barbaric and criminal killings, destruction and humiliation of the Palestinian people. It appears that Israel does not think much of the Arab people in the neighboring countries, Israel behaves as if its atrocities against the Palestinian population will not affect the Arab masses in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and the Muslim masses in Iran and Indonesia.

The buzzword used in the media is 'flashpoints' - most of these killings are taking place at 'flashpoints.' In fact, these are areas at the entrances to Palestinian towns and villages. Has nobody asked this vital question - What is the Israeli army doing at the entrances to Palestinian towns? Why do they need to be there? And if they were not there, would the Palestinians throw rocks? And another question springs to mind. Why, when a Palestinian is shot dead - he is killed, and when an Israeli is shot - he is murdered?

More than 303 Palestinians have been murdered by the Israeli occupation army more than 11000 thousand Palestinians were injured, 350 Palestinians children, men and women are clinically dead in hospitals, more than 1500 civilians are crippled and made handicapped. More than three million Palestinians are in large prisons in the West Bank and Gaza, deprived of adequate food supplies, medicine and fuel. A whole population is in captivity. The death toll is still rising and the economic hardship is worsening even more. Terminally disabled and the seriously injured are and will be one of the major problems facing the Palestinian society even after or if this aggression comes to an end.

A Palestinian call on the donor nations to fulfill their financial commitments and moral obligations in order to establish productive work generation programs for Palestinian workers and laborers. This call is echoed by UNRWA that calls on the Donor countries to provide 39.5 us dollars to enable it provide necessary assistance to the Palestinian refugees.

N. RECOMMENDED SITES AND REFERENCES
www.Albawaba.com
www.aljazeera.net
www.pna.org
www.sis.gov.ps
www.mena.gov.ps
www.addameer.org
www.bbc.co.uk
www.arij.org
www.palestine-info.com
www.miftah.org
www.lawsociety.org
www.alhaq.org
www.alquds.co.uk
www.amnesty.org
www.palestinercs.org
www.iacenter.org
www.pchrgaza.org
www.nisaa.org
www.birzeit.edu
www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/unsco/unfront.html