"Badlands": A purification plant in the south was set on fire due to protection racket

Criminals set fire to the electrical room of the Shoket wastewater treatment plant in southern Israel after the water corporation refused to pay protection money. As a result, approximately 30,000 cubic meters of raw sewage flow daily into southern streams, harming agriculture and groundwater. The Regavim and Green Now organizations warn of infrastructure collapse and strategic damage.

Criminals set fire to the electrical room of the Shoket wastewater treatment plant in southern Israel after the Neve Midbar water corporation refused to pay protection money. The arson caused a complete shutdown of the facility, and approximately 30,000 cubic meters of raw sewage flow daily into the Hebron stream, and from there to the Beersheba stream and the Besor basin. The pollution harms agriculture, drainage systems, and groundwater, and endangers the mountain aquifer. The fire adds to the ongoing strain on treatment systems, fed by two major pollution sources in Judea and Samaria: untreated urban sewage from Hebron and industrial waste from illegal stone factories in the southern Hebron Hills. Data from Dr. Naama Abrahamov shows that about 83,000 tons of mineral solids have accumulated at the plant over five years. Yehuda Kafah, southern district manager of Regavim, said, "The stench tells of badlands." Barak Varker, CEO of Green Now, called for systemic intervention. The organizations petitioned the High Court of Justice in May against the Defense Minister and the Civil Administration, demanding the closure of the illegal factories.