On February 15, enforcement activity took place in the northern region against targets suspected of managing pirate waste sites and dumping waste in nature. Participants included: The Green Police of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel Police officers at the Kafr Kanna station, the Yanshuf Unit (jointly operated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Nature and Parks Authority), and KKL-JNF. During the activity, seven trucks and three pieces of mechanical engineering equipment with an estimated value of approximately 7million ₪ were seized, and ten suspects were detained for questioning at the Kanna police station.
The activity was preceded by an undercover investigation by the Green Police and the Israel Police regarding the operation of a pirate transition station for mixed construction waste including plastic and furniture, cardboard, and yard waste. Undercover observations revealed severe offenses of illegal waste burial and dumping.
The central focus of the enforcement was in the Tur’an Forest Reserve and open areas in the Lower Galilee Regional Council. It emerged that the bulk of the waste was dumped in forest areas managed by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, causing severe damage to natural values and public spaces.
Idit Silman, Minister of Environmental Protection: “Pirate waste sites are not just an environmental hazard – they are a direct blow to the public, state resources, and the rule of law. This activity illustrates our clear policy – zero tolerance toward environmental criminality and a tangible strike against entities attempting to profit from illegal waste dumping. We will continue to expand cooperation with the Israel Police and enforcement agencies, strengthen field enforcement, and ensure that anyone who harms the environment and open spaces encounters the heavy hand of the state”.
Yossi Bar, Director of the Green Police at the Ministry of Environmental Protection: “The dumping and pirate burial of waste in forest areas and state lands are severe offenses that harm the natural assets of us all and endanger public health. The focused enforcement activity is intended to stop criminal activity in the field, create significant deterrence, and bring the polluting entities to justice”.
Eyal Ostrinsky, Chairman of KKL-JNF: “The forests and open areas of the State of Israel are not a lawless territory. This determined activity sends a sharp and clear message to environmental lawbreakers: the era in which nature serves as a backyard for waste dumping has ended. This activity is not an isolated incident, but part of a broad enforcement policy that we are partners in alongside the Green Police and the Israel Police, out of the understanding that pirate waste sites are a severe environmental and economic offense harming the entire public. The response to this challenge requires a combined and determined root treatment, and KKL-JNF will continue to act in full cooperation with all enforcement agencies to reduce hazards and protect public health and natural resources”.
The activity reflects a broad enforcement policy led by the Green Police of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with various enforcement agencies, to eradicate the phenomenon of pirate waste sites, based on the understanding that environmental and economic offenses harm the general public and require combined and determined treatment by all enforcement agencies.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection will continue to act with determination and in cooperation with the Israel Police and various enforcement agencies with the aim of reducing environmental hazards and protecting public health and the environment.
