December 22, 2009

Gaza – Ma’an – Farming and grazing in certain areas bombed by the Israeli military during last winter’s war on Gaza has been banned by the Strip's Ministry of Agriculture for fear of contamination by toxic chemicals, a report released Monday revealed.

The ministry said the ban was implemented after inspecting sites where Israeli aircraft dropped phosphorus bombs and other materials it said could be "radioactive, toxic, and carcinogenic."

The ministry was not able to carry out proper chemical tests, it said, because all the laboratories in Gaza, including the specialist lab at Islamic University, were bombed during the war.

A statement from the ministry said the effects of the chemicals they believe to have been dropped began to appear after the war. The effects included mutations and wilted plants, while some formerly fertile areas became barren, it said.

Because of the muddy soil in the Gaza Strip, the report cautioned, chemicals may have seeped into the water supply. The statement warned residents not to use water from wells in the affected areas, and to follow instructions from experts and specialists.

The ministry further alleged that a number of birds and animals had died mysteriously.

It appealed to Arab and European actors to help the government to carry out lab tests of water and soil samples.