(Communicated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories)
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Spokesman reports that today (Monday), 13 September 2010, the entry into the Gaza Strip of 250 tons of construction materials, including pipes and iron for building, in order to upgrade the sewage treatment plant in central Gaza Strip neighborhood of Sheikh Ajlin, has been coordinated.
The Sheikh Ajlin sewage treatment plant project is being carried out under the sponsorship of the German government and the KfW Bankengruppe, and was approved in May 2010 by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and German Ambassador to Israel Dr. Harald Kindermann. The project will allow for the proper treatment of wastes for the residents of the central Gaza Strip and will drastically reduce runoff into the Mediterranean Sea.
Last week, over 80 tons of iron were transferred in order to implement the second stage of the northern Gaza Strip sewage treatment plant, which is being carried out under the aegis of the World Bank. The transfer of the equipment, which was coordinated by the Gaza Coordination and Liason Office, was made possible and financed by international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.
The sewage treatment facilities, which were approved by Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and various officiasls in the international community, are designed to significantly improve the ability to treat sewage in the Gaza Strip so as to reduce harm to the environment and sources of water in the area. In addition, 180 trucks, carrying food and various fuels, entered the Gaza Strip today, via the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Spokesman Maj. Inbar emphasizes that the transfer of equipment was carried out despite the recent firing of mortar rounds and Kassam rockets by the terrorist organizations at Israel's southern communities, in accordance with the decision of Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the IDF that the crossings remain open.