Palestinians demand UN assess the environmental impact of recent Gaza wars

The draft resolution demands the UN Environment Program send a group of experts to the Gaza Strip to conduct an assessment of the environmental impact of the recent wars in Gaza.

By MAAYAN GROISMAN
A Palestinian man sits with his son outside their house, that witnesses said was damaged by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in the east of Gaza City January 7 (photo credit: REUTERS)
A Palestinian man sits with his son outside their house, that witnesses said was damaged by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in the east of Gaza City January 7
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Palestinian delegation to the UN Environment Program submitted a draft resolution on Wednesday, demanding the UN conduct an assessment of the environmental impact of the recent wars that took place in Gaza, Palestinian media reported on Thursday.
The draft resolution was submitted by the vice president of the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority and the Palestinian representative to the UN Environment Program during a meeting of the program that took place in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. 
The draft resolution, which is also signed by the Arab League, demands the UN Environment Program send a group of experts to the Gaza Strip to conduct an assessment of the environmental impact of the recent wars in Gaza, and especially the wars that took place in 2012 and 2014.
After being submitted, the resolution was put up for discussion at the Environmental Program's committee of permanent representatives in order to reach an agreed version. In the event that the parties do not reach an agreement, the draft resolution will be put to a vote at the program's next meeting in Nairobi in May.
The Palestinian delegation rejected attempts to integrate the Palestinian draft resolution into other draft resolutions that are more general and do not apply to the Palestinian territories specifically. The delegation also emphasized that the resolution it submitted is not a political resolution, as some parties tried to paint it, but an environmental one.