BICOM

The second and third reading of a bill to remove land-mine fields in Israel was approved by the Knesset plenum yesterday. The bill calls for the establishment of a committee, the National Authority for Land Mine Clearance, to oversee the removal of all land-mine fields throughout the country. The project is estimated to cost around 27 million shekels. The funding of the project will come from the government and donations. “After 63 years, Israel is joining the international community which has been dealing with banning unnecessary mines for a long time now,” said MK Roni Bar On from Kadima, who along with Tzachi Hanegbi(Kadima) worked on the bill. “The loss of life will stop and the law will also improve Israel’s international image,” Bar On added.

The IDF, last month, began removing antitank mines along the border with Jordan. The mines were planted between 30 to 40 years ago. The Golan Heights also has hundreds of mine fields. Around 90 percent of the mines are antipersonnel mines. The total number of operational and non-operational mines in Israel is unknown, ranging from estimates of 350,000 to one million, while 197,000 dunams of land in Israel and the Palestinian territories are estimated to contain mines.