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

Summary

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 34,057m², a decrease from 2015. A total of 24 antipersonnel mines were destroyed. In Gaza, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) interventions were conducted to reduce the threat and impact of ERW.

Contamination

In Palestine, hazards encompass minefields, military training zones, and areas of confrontation where many explosive devices remain. A 2013 survey by the Palestine Mine Action Center (PMAC) found that Palestine has mined areas covering a total of 19.9km², marginally less than its previous estimate of 20.4km².[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]

According to HALO, as of August 2017, more than 0.4km² of confirmed mined area exists (excluding the Jordan Valley) across seven minefields in Palestinian-controlled territory and two minefields are in no-man’s-land between the West Bank and Israel. All nine minefields (see table below) were laid by the Jordanian army.[3]

Confirmed mine contamination as of August 2017 (excluding the Jordan Valley)[4]

Note: CHA = confirmed hazardous area

Four of the 12 governorates in the West Bank still contain mined areas, as of August 2017.[5] The governorates of Bethlehem and Hebron are no longer considered contaminated, after clearance of the Husan task, the sole remaining minefield in Bethlehem governorate, was completed on 19 January 2016, and clearance of the Um Daraj and Surif minefields in Hebron governorate was completed on 6 November 2016 and 1 June 2017 respectively.[6]

Most mined areas are located in Area C of the West Bank (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.[7]

According to the UN, of the estimated total of 90 minefields in the West Bank, those in more “central areas”—the governorates of Jenin, Qalqiliya, and Tulkarm—are priorities for clearance.[8] In addition to posing a risk to civilians, mines affect the socio-economic development of Palestinian communities. Mined areas are located in, or close to, populated areas,[9] 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. They are accessible to the population, and in some cases are even under cultivation. These minefields were laid by the Jordanian military and are all located in areas under Israeli security control. Clearance operations must therefore be coordinated with the Israeli authorities,[10] in addition to PMAC.

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.[11]

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.[12] Clearance operations must therefore be coordinated with the Israeli government.[13]

An authorisation from the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister on 25 March 2012 set up 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.[14] 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.[15] The committee has established a number of sub-committees to deal with technical issues, risk education, legal affairs, foreign affairs, and health and safety.[16]

PMAC currently has 10 employees[17] and is staffed with personnel from the Palestinian National Security Forces, Civil Police, and Civil Defense. PMAC also has a team of 30 personnel who were trained by UNMAS for demining a few years ago, but to date, have not been authorized or equipped to do so, and no agreement has been reached with Israel on this matter.[18] 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). The EOD unit is only permitted to work in Area A of the West Bank.[19]

UNMAS reports that its intervention in Gaza seeks to reduce the threat and impact of ERW and mitigates the impact of future conflicts on Gaza communities by addressing the following: (i) protection of civilians from current and future ERW threats; (ii) support to reconstruction through ERW risk mitigation measures and EOD support; and (iii) emergency preparedness to respond to escalation in conflict.[20]

Strategic planning

According to PMAC, a three-year strategic mine action plan up to 2020 has been drafted for Palestine,[21] but as of September 2017, the details of the plan had not yet been shared with mine action partners.[22]

Survey and clearance in the West Bank, which is conducted by HALO, is prioritized by HALO’s donors, in conjunction with the Israeli Mine Action Authority (INMAA) and PMAC.[23]

Legislation and standards

In November 2016, Palestine announced that it was seeking to adopt and enact a mine action law. Palestine was hopeful that it would complete the legal procedures within a year and present the draft law to the legislative council for endorsement, followed by signature by the president.[24] As of May 2017, however, no further development had been made regarding the draft law.[25]

HALO’s standing operating procedures (SOPs) are approved by INMAA and are based on national standards. Once a year, HALO submits its SOPs, including any necessary amendments, to INMAA for approval.[26]

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 carries out its own internal quality control (QC), which is conducted by senior program staff, and which complies with the ISO standards and HALO’s SOPs.[27] 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.[28]

Operators

To date, Israel has not authorized demining operations by Palestinian deminers and no clearance operation has been conducted by PMAC.[29] In September 2013, however, the INMAA gave formal authorization for HALO to clear two of the 11 minefields deemed high priority by PMAC. Following INMAA authorization, HALO began mine clearance in the West Bank in April 2014.[30]

HALO works under the auspices of both the INMAA and PMAC.[31] In 2016, it employed 22 manual deminers for its operations in the West Bank, and deployed mechanical assets including three front-loading shovels, an armored excavator, and a rock crusher.[32]

Land Release

The total mined area released by clearance in 2016 was 34,057m², compared to 63,411m² in 2015.

Survey in 2016

No land was reduced by technical survey in 2016 or canceled by non-technical survey.

HALO performs survey as part of its clearance operations of the Jordanian-laid minefields in Area C of the West Bank, which includes joint site visits with PMAC and INMAA, but it is part of pre-clearance task preparation, and is of CHAs already recorded in PMAC’s database and on maps.[33]

Clearance in 2016

In 2016, HALO cleared 34,057m² of mined area in 2016.

This included completion of clearance of the Husan minefield, in the governorate of Bethlehem, which had been partially cleared by Quadro in 2013, before HALO commenced clearance on the remainder of the site in 2015. In January, HALO’s mechanical team excavated the final 1,109m² and destroyed one antipersonnel mine, before completing the task.[34]

In addition, HALO cleared 32,948m² of mined area in Um Daraj, in the governorate of Hebron in the West Bank, with the destruction of 23 antipersonnel mines and 14 items of UXO.[35]

HALO Trust mine clearance in 2016[36]

Following completion of clearance at Um Daraj minefield in November 2016, the start of clearance at Surif minefield (also in Hebron governorate), was delayed until January 2017. This was due to the external QA company’s need to recruit international QA inspectors for the Surif task, as longstanding security arrangements by the Israeli authorities preclude Israeli nationals working on site as QA inspectors.[37]

Progress towards completion

In May 2017, PMAC’s director stated that clearance of antipersonnel mines in Palestine would be completed in 2020.[38] Clearance in the West Bank is however, largely constrained by political factors, including the lack of authorization granted by Israel for Palestine to conduct mine clearance operations.

As of August 2017, HALO had completed clearance of four minefields in Area C of the West Bank.[39] HALO has now completed its survey of the Jordanian-laid minefields in the West Bank, and as of August 2017, five Jordanian-laid minefields in the governorates of Jenin and Tul Kareem, which fall within HALO’s donor agreement, remained to be cleared. HALO planned to complete clearance of the four minefields in Jenin governorate and the one minefield in Tul Kareem governorate by the end of 2018.[40]

Furthermore, the INMAA reported that at the start of 2017, it had begun survey of the Jordan Valley minefields in the West Bank, using national budget and operating with Israeli companies. The INMAA sees significant potential for cancelation and reduction of land in the Jordan Valley, and is using various technologies and scientific tools to measure mine drift possibilities. The INMAA planned to invest around NIS 900,000 (approximately US$250,000) on this project in 2017–2019.[41]

Mine clearance in 2012–2016[42]

PMAC does not have its own budget, and the Palestinian authority only provides funding for the salary of PMAC employees and the PMAC office.[43]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.