Contaminated by: antipersonnel mines (medium contamination), antivehicle mines, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) 

The State of Palestine has almost 20km² of mined area, of which 0.4km² is confirmed. Clearance in the West Bank is largely constrained by political factors, including the lack of authorization granted by Israel for Palestine to conduct or oversee mine clearance operations. Land release was conducted by the HALO Trust. The total mined area released by clearance in 2015 was 63,411m², and 0.16km² was confirmed through survey. In Gaza, UNMAS interventions were conducted to reduce the threat and impact of ERW.

Mine Contamination

In Palestine, hazards encompass minefields, military training zones, and areas of confrontation where many explosive devices are left behind.

A 2013 survey by the Palestine Mine Action Center (PMAC) found that Palestine has mined areas covering a total of 19.9km².[1] A HALO Trust survey of the West Bank in 2012 identified 90 minefields, 13 of which were laid by the Jordanian military in 1948–1967, while the remaining 77 were laid by the Israeli military along the Jordan River after the 1967 war.[2] All minefields, including those laid by the Jordanian military, are under Israeli military control.[3]

According to HALO, as of the end of January 2016, more than 0.4km² of confirmed mined area exists across nine minefields in Palestinian-controlled territory and two minefields are in no-man’s-land between the West Bank and Israel and located west of the separation barrier in an Israeli-controlled area. All 11 minefields (see table below) were laid by the Jordanian army.[4]

Confirmed mine contamination as of end January 2016*[5]

Note: CHA = confirmed hazardous area. 

Five of the 12 governorates in the West Bank still contain mined areas as of the end of January 2016, as set out in the table below.[6] The governorate of Bethlehem is now mine-free, after clearance of the sole remaining minefield was completed on 22 January 2016.[7]

Contamination by governorate as of 31 January 2016*[8]

Most mined areas are located in Area C (see below) along the border with Jordan, which covers approximately 60% of the West Bank and is under full Israeli control for security, planning, and construction.[9]

According to the UN, of the estimated total of 90 minefields in the West Bank, those in more “central areas”—the governorates of Hebron, Jenin, Qalqiliya, and Tulkarm—are priorities for clearance.[10]

In addition to posing a risk to civilians, mines affect the socio-economic development of Palestinian communities. All mined areas are located in, or close to, populated areas,[11] mostly on privately owned agricultural and grazing land or along roads used daily by communities; and are either poorly marked or not marked at all. Yet they are accessible to the population, and in some cases, are even under cultivation.[12]

Other Explosive Remnants of War 

Palestine is also contaminated with explosive remnants of war (ERW) though the precise nature and extent of the problem are not known. Hostilities between Israel and Gaza in 2008–2009, 2012, and 2014 resulted in significant ERW contamination. While much of the visible surface contamination has been removed, items of ERW still contaminate Gaza. According to UNMAS, this subsurface contamination complicates and delays reconstruction efforts and poses a danger to internally displaced people (IDPs) returning home.[13]

Program Management 

Mine action is subject to the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, under which the West Bank is divided into three areas: Area A is under full Palestinian civilian and security control; Area B is under full Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control; and Area C refers to areas where Israel has full control of security, planning, and construction.[14] Clearance operations must therefore be coordinated with the Israeli government.[15]

An authorization from the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister on 25 March 2012 set up the Palestine Mine Action Center (PMAC), appointed its director, and created a Higher Committee for Mine Action as an interministerial body, with 27 members representing the ministries of education, foreign affairs, health, intelligence, interior, justice, and military liaison, as well as the police and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The Higher Committee for Mine Action, which serves as the national mine action authority, is tasked to develop mine action legislation and allocate resources for the sector.[16] PMAC, which is located in the Ministry of Interior in Ramallah, is mandated to coordinate all aspects of mine action in the West Bank. It receives technical advice from UNMAS.[17] The committee has established a number of sub-committees to deal with technical issues, risk education, legal affairs, foreign affairs, and health and safety.[18]

PMAC currently has 11 employees[19] and is staffed with personnel from the Palestinian National Security Forces, Civil Police, and Civil Defense. PMAC also has a team of 30 that have been trained by UNMAS for demining, but who are not yet equipped to do so, and there remains no agreement with Israel on this matter.[20] The Civil Police have an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit with 42 personnel in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Tulkarm, who conduct rapid response to locate and remove items of unexploded ordnance (UXO).[21]

UNMAS reports that its intervention in Gaza seeks to reduce the threat and impact of ERW on peace and security, humanitarian relief, and socio-economic development in Gaza by addressing the following needs in 2016–2017: (i) protection of civilians from ERW threats; (ii) support to reconstruction through ERW risk mitigation measures and EOD support; and (iii) emergency preparedness to respond to escalation in conflict.[22]

Strategic planning

There is no strategic mine action plan for Palestine. In recent years, UNMAS has worked to build consensus among Israeli, Palestinian, and international stakeholders regarding a modus operandi for clearance operations in the central West Bank, and for Israel to authorize demining.[23]

Operators

To date, Israel has not authorized demining operations by Palestinian deminers and no clearance operation has been conducted by PMAC.[24] In September 2013, however, the Israeli National Mine Action Authority (INMAA) gave formal authorization for HALO Trust to clear two of the 11 minefields deemed high priority by PMAC.[25] Following INMAA authorization, HALO Trust began mine clearance in the West Bank in April 2014.[26] HALO works under the auspices of both the Israeli and Palestinian mine action authorities.[27]

In 2015, HALO employed 23 manual deminers, and mechanical assets deployed included three front-loading shovels, an armored excavator, and a rock crusher.[28]

In Gaza, UNMAS partnered with UNDP’s Rubble Removal project to support post-conflict reconstruction. It reported that by the end of the project in March 2016, UNMAS support had allowed UNDP to clear 1 million tons of rubble from heavily contaminated areas without any ERW accidents. UNMAS also conducted assessments of hazardous areas.[29]

Standards

HALO’s standing operating procedures (SOPs) are approved by INMAA and are based on national standards. Once a year, HALO Trust submits its SOPs, including any necessary amendments, to INMAA for approval.[30] 

Quality management

HALO’s work in the West Bank complies with the Israeli Standard Institute for Standards, in particular ISOs 9001, 14001, and 18001. HALO carried out its own internal quality control (QC), conducted by senior program staff, and complies with the ISO standards and HALO’s SOPs.[31] In addition, as required by INMAA, 4CI Security, an external INMAA-certified quality assurance (QA)/QC company, is contracted to monitor HALO’s clearance in accordance with Israeli National Mine Action Standards.[32]

Land Release

The total mined area released by clearance in 2015 was 63,411m²,[33] compared with 21,832m² in 2014.[34] No land was canceled by non-technical survey in 2015. 

Survey in 2015

HALO reported that in 2015 it surveyed seven mined areas across three governorates totaling 156,950m², set out in the table below.[35] These sites were confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) already recorded in PMAC’s database and on maps; the survey was intended to more accurately delineate the boundaries of the areas. HALO survey data is based on its joint site visits with PMAC and INMAA, combined with information provided by PMAC, INMAA, and local landowners.[36]

HALO Trust survey of mined areas in 2015[37]

Clearance in 2015

In 2015, HALO cleared 63,411m² of mined area in the Qalqiliya and Bethlehem governorates in the West Bank, with the destruction of 434 antipersonnel mines, 23 antivehicle mines, and one item of UXO.[38]

HALO Trust mine clearance in 2015[39]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

In 2015, HALO continued clearing the minefield at a-Nabi Elyas, which it had begun in April 2014. The minefield was laid in 1965 by the Jordanian military with Belgian PRB M35 antipersonnel mines and British MkV antivehicle mines; of an estimated 1,400 mines in total, many were known to remain dangerous. Where mines had become deeply buried by soil movement, the plastic PRB M35s could not be found with metal detectors. In such conditions, HALO used armored mechanical equipment to fully excavate contaminated soil and ensure all deeply buried mines were found and destroyed.[40] HALO reported that during clearance, in certain areas it was necessary to excavate to a greater depth than planned and also to include areas outside the minefield, due to land being littered with contaminated soil from the minefield.[41] Clearance was completed in November 2015.[42]

In June 2015, HALO began clearing the Husan minefield, in the governorate of Bethlehem. This minefield had been partially cleared by Quadro in 2013 and HALO cleared the remainder.[43] Clearance of the minefield was completed on 22 January 2016.[44]

The 63,411m² cleared by HALO in 2015 marks a significant increase on the 12,226m² of mine clearance in 2014. Land cleared by HALO was declared free of mines by INMAA, which allowed the military to cancel the “closed military area” order, which in turn allowed landowners to return to the cleared areas.[45]

Israel has not authorized demining operations by Palestinian deminers and no clearance operations were conducted by PMAC in 2014[46] or 2015.[47]

During the UNDP/UNMAS Rubble Removal project in Gaza between the end of 2014 and March 2016, 347 items of ERW were cleared.[48]

Progress towards completion

In March 2015, PMAC’s director stated that clearance of antipersonnel mines would be completed in five years, if there were no constraints by the occupation.[49] To date, though, very little progress has been made in releasing mined areas in the West Bank, with less than 0.1km² cleared over the last five years (see table below). Clearance in the West Bank is largely constrained by political factors, including the lack of authorization granted by Israel for Palestine to conduct or oversee mine clearance operations. However, HALO began mine clearance operations in April 2014, and is continuing to complete clearance of priority sites in the West Bank.

Mine clearance in 2011–2015[50]*

PMAC does not have its own budget, and the Palestinian authority only provides funding for the salary of PMAC employees and the PMAC office.[51]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.