The Ministry of Defense's new Mine Clearance Authority, which will begin operations next month, is already complaining about insufficient budgets, which will affect its goal of clearing Israel's estimated 130,000 dunam (35,000 acres) strewn with antitank and antipersonnel mines.
Mine Clearance Authority deputy director Marcel Aviv says that the current NIS 27 million budget a year means that the mission to clear minefields determined as not essential for defense will take decades to complete. "With this budget, we can't even clear the minefields along Israel's eastern border in the timetable set. The task will take decades," he said.
Aviv said, "This is why we are building on donations. If we receive sufficient donations to expand our budget, we can complete the clearance of suspected mined areas within a decade."
The Mine Clearance Authority is already close to securing its first two donations, one totaling $150,000 from a US government agency. "Later, we expect larger donations," said Aviv.
The Mine Clearance Authority says that area slated for the first mine clearance, a 240-dunam (70-acre) area around Neot Hakikar in the northern Arava Valley, is a "ticking bomb" because of its proximity to greenhouses and farmland. It estimates that there are 8,000 mines in the areas, some of which have been swept into unmarked areas by floodwaters and erosion. It believes that some mines are in the Nahal Arava channel, and will require meticulous planning to clear the mines and make the area safe for hikers.
Mines will be cleared using a specialized armored tractor equipped with a blade that churns the soil, neutralizing mines. The Mine Clearance Authority says that the method has a more than 99.6% assurance rate that cleared area is mine-free - the highest international standard.
The Mine Clearance Authority is preparing a multiyear plan based on each minefield's hazard to the public.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 7, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012