Contamination and Impact

Mines

Israel is affected by landmines dating back to World War II, and Israel has subsequently laid mines along its borders, near military camps and training areas, and near civilian infrastructure. The exact extent of overall contamination is not known, although an Israeli newspaper claimed in February 2010 that minefields covered 33km² and cited a United States Department of State estimate that 260,000 mines remain in Israel, primarily along the borders with Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the territories occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967.^[1]

Israel has claimed that all mined areas within its territory are fenced and marked with warning signs in Hebrew, Arabic, and English clearly positioned on the perimeter. Additional warnings regarding the location of minefields are said to have been given by local municipalities to the local population.^[2] Israel has declared that information on the location of minefields is provided to the Israeli Mapping Center. Maps are reportedly available to the public and periodically updated. Further information regarding the location of minefields is provided by local municipalities in response to land rights and use inquiries.^[3]

Fences and minefield markings are said to be regularly maintained by special army engineering corps units.^[4] On 6 February 2010, however, an 11-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister were injured when a mine exploded in the northern Golan Heights near Mount Avital.^[5] The children’s family, which was visiting the area as tourists, claimed there were no mine warning signs.^[6] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged problems with some of the fences around minefields on the Golan Heights, but asserted that the minefield where the incident happened was fenced and had clearly visible warning signs.^[7] The Northern Command did, however, decide to increase its supervision of the fences by teams responsible for the reportedly more than 2,000 minefields on the Golan Heights after the incident.^[8]

Cluster munition remnants

It is not known whether Israel remains affected by cluster munition remnants. According to the commander of the National Police’s bomb squad, all known strike locations of cluster munitions fired into Israel from Lebanon by Hezbollah in 2006 were cleared of any remnants found at the time. However, no systematic survey was conducted, nor was there any attempt to identify strikes that may have landed in the desert.^[9] Based on an interview with the head of Arava’s drainage authority, Survivor Corps has claimed that the Ktura Valley in Arava region is contaminated by unexploded submunitions.^[10]

Other explosive remnants of war

There are also other areas believed to contain explosive remnants of war (ERW), particularly UXO. Scattered UXO are reported to remain across several dozen military training areas in Negev region. Most of the UXO casualties are said to be Bedouins whose settlements and livestock grazing areas fall within contaminated areas.^[11]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

There is currently no national entity to manage or coordinate demining efforts. In May 2010, however, spurred on by calls for mine clearance from the 11-year-old boy injured in February, 73 members of the 120-seat Parliament co-sponsored a bill aimed at establishing a national mine action authority for clearing mines “that are not required for security purposes.”^[12] The bill, which was drafted by the US NGO Survivor Corps, sought to establish both a National Mine Action Authority and a mine action center to oversee a plan for mine clearance.^[13] It was suggested that removing most of the 260,000 mines lining the borders could occur in the coming five to 10 years at an estimated cost of approximately US$60 million.^[14]

On 17 February 2000, the government decided that mine clearance would be implemented by civilian companies and supervised by a civilian authority, which would initiate clearance requests. The IDF, however, decided a year later that it held sole responsibility for mine clearance.^[15] Nonetheless, certain civilian companies have since engaged in limited clearance operations.

Land Release

Israel does not provided detailed reporting on its clearance of mined areas. In 2009 through November, the IDF is said to have made significant progress in clearing “more than 10 minefields.” No details of the clearance were provided. Two other minefields were planned to be cleared by the end of the year.^[16] It is not known if this occurred.

Other Risk Reduction Measures

Mine/ERW risk education is not believed to be conducted in Israel.