Recommendations for action

• Israel should improve its reporting of the extent of mine contamination nationwide, not merely in areas not considered essential for Israel’s security.

Contamination

The exact extent of mine contamination in the State of Israel is not known. Israel has reported 53.5km² of confirmed hazardous area (CHA) containing mines and a further 72.5km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA) containing mines, as set out in the table below. But the combined 126km² represents only the area affected by mines that are not deemed essential to Israel’s security. The size of other mined areas is not made public.

Contamination as of end 2014[1]

Israel’s mine problem dates back to World War II. Subsequently, Israel laid significant numbers of mines along its borders, near military camps and training areas, and near civilian infrastructure. In August 2011, Israel’s military reported planting new mines to reinforce minefields and other defenses along its de facto border with Syria in the Golan Heights.[2] 

The 2014 estimate of 126km² for mined areas that are not, or no longer, considered essential for Israel’s security is slightly lower than the 2013 estimate of 128km².[3] Based on the results of Israeli National Mine Action Authority (INMAA) mine clearance projects, actual contamination is thought likely to cover between 5% and 10% more or less than this.[4] Contamination includes “minefields in the sea,” estimated to cover 0.5km².[5] 

Israel is also contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Program Management 

A March 2011 law on minefield clearance, established the INMAA to undertake a “comprehensive programme of mine clearing projects inside Israel.”[6] The law’s aim was “to create a normative infrastructure for the clearance of minefields that are not essential to national security, and to declare them as free from landmines with the highest degree of safety to civilians, in accordance with the international obligations of the State of Israel, and within the shortest period of time possible.”[7]

The INMAA was established in the Ministry of Defense with ministry staff responsible for planning mine action. The INMAA is comprised of 10 employees.[8] The INMAA manages a “minefield information bank” that is open for public queries concerning demining plans and programs.[9] 

Strategic planning

Israel reports that the INMAA has a multi-year clearance plan for 2014−2017 that calls for clearance of areas in northern Israel (the Golan Heights and Galilee) in the summer and in southern Israel (the Jordan Valley and Arava Plain) in the winter.[10] According to Israel, demining operations clear on average 1.5km² a year.[11] In addition, INMAA will continue to manage projects in the West Bank, funded by the governments of the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[12]

In addition, there are externally funded development projects, such as clearing a path for the future gas pipeline to Jordan, and removing lines that block the expansion of terminals and trade zones on the Jordanian border.[13]

Operators

Commercial companies are contracted to conduct clearance and to conduct quality assurance (QA). In 2014, mine clearance was conducted by two national clearance contractors: Eitan Lidor Projects (ELP) and the Israeli Mine Action Group (IMAG).

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) also conduct mine clearance according to the IDF’s own mine action plans “that are executed by their military methods and techniques” and implements an annual program that includes maintenance of mined area protections.[14] During wintertime, the IDF gives special attention to minefields that are located in proximity to farms, residential areas, or hiker routes, as mines may be carried into these areas by floods.[15] 

Land Release 

Total mined land released by clearance in 2014 was 1.2km², compared with 2.2km² in 2013.[16] According to the INMAA, Israel does not use non-technical or technical survey for land release. All land is released through clearance. “Low-risk” areas are released after the completion of at least one clearance phase.[17]

Israel has reported that since the INMAA’s establishment in 2011 and through the end of 2014, it has cleared and released more than 5.1km².[18]

Clearance in 2014 

The clearance of 1.2km² in 2014 was by commercial operators contracted by INMAA (see table below).[19]

Mine clearance in 2014[20]

Clearance in 2014 was split between northern and southern Israel. ELP cleared tasks in the Valley of Springs in the north, and Ein Yahav in the south. IMAG cleared projects in Snir, in the north.[21]

Clearance operations are concentrated in areas for agricultural development in the south, together with clearance in the north to improve access to water, clear hiking trails, and expand cattle grazing areas. Clearance is conducted throughout the year: in the north during the summer and in the south during the winter.[22]

The IDF’s mine action program is implemented independently of the INMAA, using military methods and techniques.[23] The area cleared or released by the IDF is unknown. According to Israel’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report for 2014, the IDF has made significant progress in clearing additional minefields and releasing areas of land for civilian use.[24]