Workshop in Bethlehem Concerning Wastewater Treatment in Wadi Al-Nar

Bethlehem - Last 17th Bebruary, The governor of the Bethlehem district Salah Al-Ta'maree discussed the establishment of a wastewater treatment plant for Wadi Al-Nar at a meeting held in the headquarters of the Bethlehem governorate. Al-Ta'maree talked about the importance of solving the sewage and wastewater crisis stressing that the outcome of this meeting should be concrete recommendations for the implementation of projects addressing this issue. He added that this meeting came about as a response to the initiative of the Jerusalem municipality who will take the lead in this project, asking the participants to move towards Palestinian implementation of the project in the near future. Eng. Nader Khatib, the General Director of the Water & Environmental Development Organization, thanked the governor for this initiative, and pointed to the water and environmental problems, explaining that the current situation will influence the groundwater wells.

Simona Cleir, a German researcher working in the University of Berlin since the year 2000 in similar projects indicated the necessity of identifying the Palestinian point of views through a questionnaire, in order to classify the Palestinian and Israeli opinions which would allow an agreement on a suitable solution. She further highlighted the important issue of where the treated water would go if there is no agreement of joint implementation. She also referred to the results of the questionnaire that she prepared, which included technical, political, economical, environmental, institutional, and social aspects, explaining that the priorities will be outlined after the points of agreement and disagreement are examined. The people who filled out the questionnaire are ordinary Palestinian residents as well as representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations.