Full coverage· Security· Updated
Negev Mayors Warn of Job Losses Over Rotem Amfert Waste Pond Dispute
The mayors of Be'er Sheva, Dimona, Arad, and Yeruham have sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that the Rotem Amfert plant in the Negev faces potential closure by April 2027. The plant's current waste reservoir, Pool 5, is nearing its capacity, which threatens the livelihoods of approximately 6,000 families in southern Israel.
3 newsrooms · 1 language · since
What happened
- 01Four Negev mayors warned Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Rotem Amfert plant faces potential closure by April 2027.
- 02The potential shutdown of the plant threatens the livelihoods of approximately 6,000 families in southern Israel.
- 03The plant directly employs 1,000 workers and indirectly supports an additional 5,000 families in related sectors.
- 04The dispute centers on the plant's need to use Reservoir 4 as its current waste reservoir, Pool 5, nears capacity.
- 05The District Planning and Building Commission has already approved the plan to use Reservoir 4.
- 06The Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Water Authority, and the Nature and Parks Authority raised no objections to the plan.
- 07Plant workers demonstrated outside the Knesset to demand immediate approval for the use of Reservoir 4.
To ensure continued operations, the plant is seeking approval from the National Council for Planning and Construction to use an additional storage pool, Reservoir 4, for phosphogypsum, a byproduct of phosphate production. The mayors and workers noted that the plan has already undergone extensive environmental and planning reviews and was approved by the District Planning and Building Commission.
The local leaders emphasized that the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Water Authority, the Nature and Parks Authority, and the environmental organization Adam Teva V'Din participated in the process without raising objections. Workers have protested outside the Knesset, warning of severe economic consequences for the region if the national planning committee rejects the use of Reservoir 4.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Walla. Read Walla’s originalThe coverage
3 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
- LeftNone
- Centre2
- Right1
- HarediNone
- ArabNone