Israeli reactor linked to Palestinian deaths

Press TV- Dramatic increases in cancer cases, sterility and abnormal births in south of the West Bank is said to be linked to a uranium leak at the Dimona nuclear power plant.

In villages located in the south of the West Bank, cancer cases, sterility and mental disorders have surged, particularly in the Avaria village, which has a population of over 35,000 people. International scientists have investigated the anomaly to find out the reason is behind it.

“During the past 20 years, there has been a sharp increase in Thyroid disorders, sterility, abnormal births and cancer cases,” Mahmoud Sa'adeh, of the 10,000 strong International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, said in an interview with Press TV.

"One case was an 11-year-old boy who developed heart cancer. This disease happens to one out of one hundred million people so is extremely rare. The boy died recently,” he said.

The group, with the help of Al-Khalil (Hebron) University, has studied the possible impacts of Israel's Dimona reactor, located in the Negev desert some 30km away from Avaria village.

Governor of al-Khalil Kamel Hemed said, “Last year we killed over 2,000 dogs in our region. They were not behaving normally and were very aggressive and huge in size.”

“We do not own the needed technologies to investigate the matter and we are also banned from traveling to the border areas. We have asked international organizations to intervene”, he added.

Uranium in the area has been tested at ten times the permitted concentration by Al-Khalil University. The elements of thorium and cesium follow the same pattern of results. Cesium only emerges from nuclear explosions or nuclear activities and is 12 to 30 times the permitted concentration in five local villages of Palestine.

“The nuclear waste from Dimona power plant is buried under Palestinian state land and in some cases under Israeli settlements. In a nearby settlement, there are at least 20 cancer cases. They are too afraid to speak out. Every person over there gets around USD 20,000 dollars a month from the Israeli government in order to stay silent,” Sa'adeh said.

“Israel pays USD11 per barrel to bury waste in this way. It would cost them over USD 5,000 per barrel if it was lawfully disposed of in other countries like Mauritania or Somalia,” he added. Read more