Jerusalem Governorate Warns Israeli Waste Treatment Project Threatens Qalandiya Land, Homes

The Jerusalem Governorate warned that Israeli authorities have officially begun planning procedures for a large-scale waste treatment project on the lands of Qalandiya village, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, describing it as an escalation in annexation and land confiscation policies.

“Jerusalem — The Jerusalem Governorate warned of a decision by what is called the Israeli District Committee for Planning and Building to officially begin planning procedures to establish a large-scale settlement project for waste processing on lands of the village of Qalandiya, northwest of occupied Jerusalem”

Al-Jazeera Net

The governorate said the published plans include a large-scale waste treatment project on Qalandiya village lands, accompanied by a change in the route of the existing separation wall shifting it deeper into the village’s territory.

Al-Jazeera Net

It added that the project, in all its components, will result in the confiscation of approximately 278 dunams of Palestinian land, and it said the targeted area includes approximately 40 inhabited homes and dozens of dunams of fertile agricultural land planted with olive trees, grains, and vegetables.

The governorate said the plan calls for a waste treatment and energy conversion facility that would feed waste into the Israeli electricity grid, including plastic, paper waste, and other flammable materials.

It further stated that the project’s origins date back to June 2024, when the occupation government tasked the Eden Company, affiliated with the Jerusalem municipality, with identifying a site for the facility.

İlke Haber Ajansı reported that Palestinian officials condemned the Israeli land grab for a waste facility in occupied Jerusalem, warning it is part of a systematic effort to ethnically cleanse and Judaize the area.

The Jerusalem Governorate, in a statement carried by İlke Haber Ajansı, said the project would see the confiscation of approximately 278 dunams of privately owned Palestinian land through rerouting the illegal separation wall deeper into Palestinian territory.

İlke Haber Ajansı

İlke Haber Ajansı said Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich advanced the theft in April 2025 by reactivating old, illegitimate land confiscation orders from the 1970s and 1980s.

The Jerusalem Governorate also rejected Israel’s claims that the facility is an “environmental” project, describing it as a “textbook case of environmental racism,” where Israel dumps polluting infrastructure on Palestinian communities while reaping benefits for its illegal settlements.

In the same framing, İlke Haber Ajansı quoted the Governorate stressing: "The project violates international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention".

The Jerusalem Governorate warned that establishing a waste treatment facility in the Qalandiya area would lead to increased emissions of pollutants, odors, and particulate matter, with negative impacts on air quality, soil, groundwater, and public health.

“JERUSALEM / PNN/ The Jerusalem Governorate warned on Thursday against the Israeli authorities' decision to officially begin planning procedures for a massive colonial waste treatment project on the lands of Qalandiya village, northwest of occupied Jerusalem”

Palestinian News Network

In its account, the governorate said global experiences with waste treatment facilities located near residential areas indicate increased risks to public health, including higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer, particularly among children and the elderly.

The governorate also said the project threatened agricultural production and local food security by targeting productive agricultural land planted with olive trees, grains, and vegetables.

Yaffa News Network said the governorate confirmed that the danger of the project is not limited to land confiscation and threatening homes, because it has serious environmental and health dimensions due to the site’s proximity to densely populated Palestinian residential communities.

The governorate called on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate action to halt the project and hold the occupying authorities accountable for policies targeting Palestinian land, people, and the environment in occupied Jerusalem.