Over on Daily Kos there have been a couple of diaries on the disaster at Beit Lahiya in Gaza where at least four people, two toddlers, an elderly person and a teenage girl, were killed by a “tsunami” of sewage. That included one particularly nasty, near racist diary which seemed to rejoice in these deaths because of the inaction of the Palestinian Authority after a 2004 UN report mentioned in the agency reporting of the incident.
Much has been made of the inaction caused by the “security situation” which was taken by those diarists to mean internal violence. In seeking to blame the PA they have taken rather stupidly brought the whole matter to our attention. More in depth research seems to uncover strong evidence that these four were not victims of Palestinian incompetence but a sustained series of actions by the Israeli Defence Forces. Like the on-going injuries from cluster bombs in Lebanon, these deaths result from IDF actions last summer and before.
This is how CBS News describe the proximate cause of the disaster.
Fadel Kawash, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said that the level of sewage in the cesspool had increased over the past few days, creeping up the earth embankments around the pool until one collapsed, “causing the sewage to pour toward the village.
“Cesspool” is a bit of a misnomer as these are large lagoons clearly visible even on the low resolution images on Google Earth. It is however worthwhile to note that the flood was caused by a collapse of one of the embankments, previous predictions had a flood scenario but caused by an overflow from rising levels. Just such an incident nearly happened last year as reported by the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem:
Regarding sewage, one of the major dangers following the stopping of the pumps at the sewage plants, to which low-lying areas are especially susceptible, is that the sewage will back up in the pipes and flood the system. So far, no reports of flooding have been received.
Another, even worse, danger threatens residents of the northern Gaza Strip: rise of the water level at the Beit Lahiya sewage plant and flooding of parts of Beit Lahiya and Umm Nasr, a nearby Beduin village. This scenario, which could develop into an ecological catastrophe, came close to being realized during the three weeks after the Gaza Strip power plant was bombed, when the sewage plant stopped operating while the sewage continued its normal flow.
So we know that in early July 2006, the walls were strong enough to contain a rise in the level of sewage but by March 2007 they were weak enough to collapse. Before then, the area around the sewage works had received sustained attack from the IDF. This report from the Guardian in April 2006 archived by Palestinemonitor gives a somewhat different perspective from that usually presented by the pro-Israeli side.
Palestinian militants have fired about 50 missiles at Israel in the past month without causing serious injury.
Yesterday the residents of Al Nader towers, the highest point in northern Gaza, were nervously watching the one-sided artillery duel. Israeli artillery announced itself with a low thud in the east followed by the overhead whistle of a shell.
People hunched their shoulders for protection but then saw an eruption of dust in the valley half a mile below and to the west, followed by a noise like a thunder clap. The Israelis were targeting a field between Beit Lahiya and the sewage works.
Those watching admired the accuracy of the Israeli gunners as shell after shell landed within metres of the last.
As groups of young men watched the spectacle, women put out washing and trucks arrived to sell cucumbers and tomatoes for 5 shekels (60p) a box. The vegetables are normally sold for export via Israel for 78 shekels (£10), but when the goods terminal is closed they have to be sold at a price that Gazans can afford.
Then a sudden scream emerged from behind the towers and a Palestinian rocket headed towards Israel. Its vapour trail disappeared in seconds and it did not seem to make its destination.
Thus we have the continuing tit for tat but in this case the Israelis got their response in first. As presented, the artillery firing appears routine and the rocket a response to it rather than the reverse as it always presented. Note this was before the main attacks following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militant groups.
Previous IDF action had involved the area being invaded or occupied. A
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report shows that the village involved in the incident, together with the surrounding area were occupied by IDF tanks in October 2004. The damage however goes back further as a report in September 2006 from Oxfam (.pdf) explains:
Since 2000, the Gaza Strip has been in crisis, with frequent Israeli incursions, shelling and air strikes to the Strip. Much of the water and sanitation infrastructure, particularly in the North Goverorate (Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, east of Khan Younis and south-east of Rafah, has been destroyed or damaged.
Even more significant, the cover photograph of the Oxfam report shown the Beit Lehiya sewerage works under attack from IDF artillery in August 2006. The report explained the then current position regarding repair and improvement works to the plant:
As a temporary solution, CMWU has launched a contract to support the lagoons shoulders, while PWA will launch a contract to connect the infiltration pump station with 16″ pipes that will divert wastewater from the lagoons to north of Um an-Naser. Work is currently on hold due to ongoing IDF operations, exposing the area around the lagoons to frequent artillery fire
This blog entry provides evidence that in November 2006 IDF activitiy would have meant that it would be unsafe to try the improvement works:
Barely two hours after entering Gaza on November 18th, I watched an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Apache Helicopter hover eerily above the densely populated Bedouin town of Beit Lahiya in the Northwestern Gaza Strip, population 40,000. Bursts of cannon fire from the helicopter reverberated across the Northern Gaza, rattling the fourth story windows of the Al Awda Hospital in nearby Beit Hanoun as I squinted in the bright sunlight to make out the helicopter
What we appear to have though is strong evidence that the shelling during August 2006 weakened the structure of the earthworks. There are some (unsubstantiated) reports of local people mining the sides of the lagoons to sell the soil to local contractors. While that may be true, it should be seen in the light of the economic circumstances imposed by the Israelis and their blockade. This is exemplified in my third extract above where the farm goods had to be sold locally for less than one fifteenth of the price available by export. Add to that the destruction of the productive land by shelling and you get to understand some to the desperate times they are in.
My contention therefore is that the IDF has a very substantial, if not the main, responsibility for the deaths this week.