After the Knesset passed a preliminary vote on Wednesday that would permit thetransfer of national park ownership to private hands, the Israel Union forEnvironmental Defense slammed the government for going against public interestand warned that this move could cause the valued natural sites to becomecommercialized, with a depreciated commitment to conservation.
“On days in which thewinds of social justice are blowing and the people are opposing unbridled privatizationpolicies, the Israeli Knesset is proving just how much far removed it is fromthe public, when it passes a bill whose significance means the sale of naturaland time-honored resources to private hands,” said Amit Bracha, executivedirector of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, in a statement.