The steel wall will cause environmental disasters for Gaza and Egypt

[ 02/01/2010 - 10:02 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Naim Baroud, a Palestinian professor of geography, warned that the building of the steel wall would cause environmental and health disasters for both the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian people in Sinai. In a press statement published Friday by Palestine newspaper, Dr. Baroud noted that Egypt’s underground aquifer in Sinai is shared with Gaza and fed by rainwater which flow from south to north and vice versa to feed all this inter-aquifer, adding that the steel wall would affect the flow of water into this basin. The professor also said that Egypt’s intention to pump large amounts of very salty water, which is unfit for human use and contains pollutants, from the Mediterranean sea into the Palestinian-Egyptian borders will change the chemical properties of the inter-aquifer and turn its sweet water into highly saline water. He warned if this happens, the Egyptian and Palestinian citizens in the area of this aquifer will be no longer able to use water wells. The professor stressed that the danger of this steel wall are not confined to the contamination of groundwater, but also it will affect the soil, where the iron pipes planted in the ground and the drilling rigs that operate on a daily basis will lead to the disintegration of this soil, which is already loose, and to landslides in the areas surrounding the wall. The professor also touched on other ecological impacts of this wall and criticized Egypt for not conducting environmental, hydrological and economical studies to determine the hazards of this wall. As for the ability of Gaza people to find alternative solutions to the problem of the steel wall, the professor expressed his optimism that Gazans could invent creative ways to beat and resist this wall. In a related context, Palestinian minister of interior Fathi Hammad stated Friday that any concrete or steel walls would not deter the Palestinian people in Gaza from obtaining freedom. During a cultural meeting held in Gaza, Hammad noted that the Gaza people would be able to penetrate all walls. Saudi scholar Youssef Al-Ahmed, a professor at the university of Imam Mohamed Ibn Saud in Riyadh, issued a fatwa (religious edict) forbidding the construction of Egypt’s steel wall. The fatwa, which was posted Friday on Noor Al-Islam network website, says that this wall is religiously prohibited and one of the greatest sins in Islam. For his part, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, said, during a ceremony held Friday to honor families of martyrs in the neighborhood of Al-Daraj, east of Gaza city, that the Gaza people, who remained steadfast in the Israeli war, will never fail to beat any walls besieging them.

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