There is increasing opposition within Israel’s Knesset to the agreement approved by the government with Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) on the removal, or “harvesting,” of salt and a new royalties regime. Environmental groups teamed up with a growing number of Knesset Members to denounce the agreement at a stormy session of the Knesset Finance Committee on Jan. 10.
Under the terms of the agreement, the company will cover 80 percent of the cost of harvesting the salt from the Dead Sea’s southern basin in order to prevent the flooding of nearby hotels. In addition, royalty payments are to be increased from 5 to 10 percent.
The meeting followed the rejection by the Israeli government for the second time this month of a comprehensive bill for the rehabilitation of the Dead Sea. The Knesset bill was drafted by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (IUED) and sponsored by Knesset Member Dov Henin. The proposal goes far beyond the agreement between the Israeli government and ICL, and deals with curbing the declining water level of the northern part of the Dead Sea, biodiversity, and revising the mineral extraction regime that enables ICL to extract potash and other minerals from the inland sea.
Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov stressed their opposition to the government decision, charging that it would only lead to increased damage of the Dead Sea in the long run. Speaking at the session, Erdan said the Dead Sea “should not be considered a bath full of minerals for the maximization of profits.”
The Environmental Protection Minister also wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding the establishment of a public committee on the Dead Sea and a means of protecting the country’s natural resources. His proposal called for the committee to examine the existing situation and make recommendations on the future exploitation of resources.
Knesset Member Henin charged that the low level of royalties would actually encourage ICL to expand pumping in the northern end of the Dead Sea. He said this would only increase environmental damage to the Dead Sea.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth Middle East charged that the rejection of the Knesset bill and the approval of the ICL agreement were a severe blow to the Dead Sea. The group accused the government of siding with the interests of tycoons – in this case ICL, which is controlled by the billionaire Ofer family – at the expense of the public.