Environmental justice for Keseife

March 3 2010:

IUED's environmental justice team has secured an injunction that will bring modern sewage processing to the recognized Bedouin township of Keseife, near Arad in the Negev, where raw sewage runs in an open channel.
 
IUED filed an administrative petition in January 2010 on behalf of inhabitants of Keseife, a recognized Bedouin township close to the town of Arad. The status of 'recognized' means that the township's approximately 8,000 residents are entitled to the same sanitation services that all Israelis receive from their local authorities. 
 
Raw sewage flows through the village in an open channel. According to the injunction issued by the Beersheba District Court, construction of the sewage infrastructure must be completed by June 2010.

Environmental injustice

IUED’s environmental justice coordinator, attorney Keren Halperin-Musari relates that IUED has worked with Keseife activists over the last two years, negotiating with the local authority, the Health Ministry and other officials.

“It’s a classic environmental justice case where local authority failings are inflicting health risks on the local population and degrading the Negev environment.”
 

With an expert opinion prepared by IUED's Sarit Caspi-Oron, IUED filed an administrative petition to the Beersheba District Court in January. At the March 4 hearing, the judge handed issued an injunction on the local authority to complete sewage infrastructure by June 10, 2010.