Knesset Hearing: Smuggled West Bank Produce With Banned Pesticides Sold in Israeli Stores

Israeli distributors sold tainted produce to stores—smuggled in from the Palestinian Authority in violation of regulations. The Knesset Health Committee, which flagged the issue about two months ago, held a hearing today (Sunday). During the hearing, it was argued that the Health Ministry has not done enough to stop the phenomenon.

According to the data, about 57% of the sampled goods were found to contain hazardous pesticides that are banned for use in Israel.

Acting committee chair, MK Amit Halevi of Likud, said: "This is a mass poisoning of Israeli citizens; it is hard to believe such a scandal exists in this country. Poisoning rates in fruits and vegetables are in the dozens of percent—the worst kind. Men and women have fallen ill with cancer, and miscarriages have occurred as a result. This is despite an explicit law that forbids it, and only out of considerations of economic harm to the Palestinians. The economic welfare of the Palestinians was preferred at the expense of the health of Israel's citizens."

Halevi promised to ensure that all the new, stricter procedures are implemented in full and to wage an all-out fight against vegetable smuggling and fake packaging. During the hearing, a representative of the Civil Administration's agriculture coordinator claimed that roughly 30,000 tons of fruits and vegetables are smuggled without oversight.

As a reminder, about two months ago the committee revealed worrying data about the quality of agricultural produce entering Israel from the Palestinian Authority—showing that nearly every other cucumber and every other tomato are tainted with pesticides banned for use, which can cause serious diseases such as cancer and Parkinson's.

Dr. Ziva Hamma, a Health Ministry representative, detailed that 50% of cucumbers, 49% of tomatoes, and 66% of hot peppers tested were found tainted. In 14% of the samples, a neurotoxic organophosphate was detected, a substance that harms the development of fetuses and infants.

Health Ministry representatives reported that three distributors were caught with contaminated goods that they marketed despite an instruction to transfer them to holding warehouses. The hearing also revealed that the holding warehouses are owned by the distributors themselves, allowing them to remove the contaminated goods and market them at any time.

Lt. Col. Nir Azuz, head of civil planning at the Coordinator of Government Activities, said that the health of Israel's citizens is the top priority and noted that it was decided to tighten screening mechanisms. According to him, from now on 100% of goods will be checked, inspections will be carried out in the fields, and a new list of authorized distributors will be put into operation. Dorit Haus, head of the Imports Division at the Health Ministry, added that for about a month there has been no transfer of fruits and vegetables from PA areas and that from now on contaminated goods will be destroyed or returned.