“Almost half of Israel’s land is taken up, directly or indirectly, by the defense establishment,” geo-strategic expert Dr. Amiram Oren said today at a seminar entitled “The territorial cost of defense” at the University of Haifa.
Oren declared that it was almost impossible to find a region in Israel with no territorial conflicts between defense considerations and civilian interests. He added that the space occupied by military camps prevented development of urban communities. He said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also had a deleterious effect on the environment, because it did not properly treat sewage, trash, and solid waste.
According to Oren, many IDF camps did not prevent oil and fuel leaks, poured waste and polluting poisons into the sea, and did not treat sewage in evaporation pools.
Oren noted that even open spaces, which should be free conflicts between military and civilian systems, were also affected. For example, the many spaces held by the IDF create a mental block, harm the concept of open space, and increase the feeling of crowding and lack of open space among groups in Israel.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 27, 2005