The roundtable opened with an introduction by moderator Ms. Tali Lipkin-Shahak, who explained that representatives of the Israeli defense system had been invited, but no one agreed to come. She voiced the opinion that even though the planting of mines is related to Israel's security and to the activities of the Israel Defense Forces, it is likely that dealing with the dangers of landmines should be entrusted to a different body.
The moderator then turned to 11-year old Daniel Yuval, who had lost part of his leg about a month earlier when he stepped on a landmine while playing in the snow in the Golan Heights. She explained that it was his injury, and the media coverage that it generated, that led to this meeting of the Round Table. Daniel reported that he has been discharged from the hospital, and that his physical condition is improving. He said that soon after he was wounded, he decided to establish a non-profit organization that would prevent landmine injuries to other people in the future.
Ms. Lipkin Shahak next introduced Mr. Jerry White, the Executive Director and Founder of Survival Corps, who established his international network for survivors of landmine explosions after he too had stepped on a mine in the Golan Heights. Survivor Corps has two main realms of activity: providing assistance to landmine survivors, and working to decrease the danger of landmines throughout the world. Mr. White cited statistics that some 80 million landmines are currently planed throughout the world in some 80 countries. (A video of Jerry White's comments in English can be found at the bottom of this page.)
Dr. Maya Freund, an additional landmine survivor, spoke next. Dr. Freund was injured 30 years ago while hiking in the Galilee. She explained that it was only after all these years, when she heard Daniel Yuval's story, that she felt the need to get involved in dealing with the problem of landmines in Israel.
Mr. Ezra Rabins, Head of the Central Arava Regional Council, explained that while new minefields are no longer being planted in Israel, the danger to the public from existing minefields increases with each passing winter, when rain-induced erosion shifts the positioning of the mines. While in the past, it may have been possible to clear minefields based on data in government maps, today many landmines are in areas that are not marked as being dangerous. Mr. Rabins explained that while the Israeli army is willing to clear minefields, the Defense Ministry would prefer that private developers, who are interested in initiating projects in the Arava, clear the mines at their own expense as part of their development projects.
Mr. Ami Shacham, Head of the Arava Drainage Authority, brought a sample of they type of landmine that is buried in the Arava to the meeting, and explained that these mines are made of plastic, which makes them difficult to detect. According to Mr. Shacham, 70,000 mines were planted in the Arava after the 1967 Six Day War. Some of these mines were planted in fenced-in fields, but winter flooding often moves them to areas outside the fences. This of necessity impacts tourism in the region.
Mr. Baruch Partzman, the Director of Cartography at the Center for the Survey of Israel, was wounded by a naval mine that detonated in his hand. As part of his work, Mr. Partzman is in regular contact with personnel of the IDF, who have been helping his department mark minefields on hiking maps since the year 2000. (Prior to this, minefields were not marked on hiking maps.) He noted, however, that his department only produces maps in Hebrew, such that foreign tourists and Israelis who do not speak Hebrew remain in danger. He also warned of the dangers inherent in hiking in the Arava and cautioned that it is necessary to remain on marked hiking trails.
Mr. Dian Or, Director of the ''Landmine-Free Israel'' Coalition established by Survivor Corps, asserted that even though the army and the Knesset are willing to take action to clear mines, the initiative must come from the public. He reported that in general, throughout the world, there is willingness to contribute financial support to mine-clearing initiatives. He drew proof of this from the fact that many third world countries have succeeded in clearing their mines as a result of international support. He explained governments are only too happy to promote initiatives of this nature when they have been started by non-governmental bodies.
MK Ayoob Kara (Likud), Deputy Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee, said that had he been aware of the problem of landmines when he served in the army, he probably would have preferred to be assigned to a different job. He recommended that a civilian authority be established to spearhead the clearance of landmines, which will be dealt with in parallel by the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee.
Dr. Eitan Barak of the Department of International Relations of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, explained that Israel has not yet signed the Ottawa Treaty, which will obligate the country to clear all of the minefields in its territory.
Ambassador Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., Chairman of the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, has served in a variety of senior posts in the American administration, many of which were in the Middle East. He explained that the United States also has not signed treaties limiting the use of landmines; however, this has not prevented the government from active involvement in this realm. In his opinion, if the Israeli government were to approach American organizations for assistance in clearing minefields, they would receive a favorable response. He also stressed the need to focus on clearly marking minefields. (A video of Ambassador Bloomfield's comments in English can be found at the bottom of this page.)
Mr. Kerei Ruru, the manager of the United Nations Mine Action Team that is clearing mines in Gaza, previously held a similar position at the Israel-Lebanon border. In 2001, after Israeli forces withdrew from Southern Lebanon, an enormous number of mines had to be cleared in order to protect the civilians returning to that area. In a period of 18 months, his team cleared nearly 58,000 anti-personnel mines. 1,700 anti-tank mines, nearly 4,500 unexploded ordnances (UXO) in nearly 5 million square meters of land, which was returned to the community. He explained that the work conducted by his team is relatively simple and that the biggest challenge to initiating mine clearance projects is usually politics. He extended an offer to make members of his team available to provide guidance to Israeli mine clearance teams. (A video of Kerei Ruru's comments in English can be found at the bottom of this page.)
Mr. Avshalom Katua, Executive Director of Goren-Kidon, a private company that is involved in humanitarian landmine clearance throughout the world, pointed out that one of the reasons why it is important to establish a government agency that will take responsibility for landmine clearance is the need to establish who will be criminally liable in cases in which individuals are injured by landmines in areas that were said to be mine-free.
Ms. Daniele Ressler, Assistant Editor of the Journal of Mine Action, spoke about the activities of the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery, where she serves as a research specialist. The Center is currently working on humanitarian mine clearance with Jordan, where one of their research projects is exploring the issue of landmine aging and whether landmines become more or less dangerous over time. The result of this study in Jordan, which has a similar climate to Israel, could impact priorities of future mine clearance initiatives in Israel by identifying the types of mines that pose the greatest risk. The psycho-social project that the Center is currently conducting in Jordan offers landmine survivors emotional support and physical rehabilitation. This project is currently servicing Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Jordanian and Yemini landmine victims, and could service Israelis in the future as well. (A video of Daniele Ressler's comments in English can be found at the bottom of this page.)
Adv. Tirza Leibowitz, Director of Rights Advocacy for Survivor Corps, pointed out that Israel has made substantial progress in guaranteeing the rights of individuals with disabilities. It has passed the Equal Rights for People with Disabilities law and is on its way to signing an International Treaty for Rights of People with Disabilities. She expressed her hope that 11-year old Daniel Yuval's experience as an amputee injured in 2010 would be substantially different than that of Dr. Maya Freund, who was injured 30 years earlier. She pointed out that Israel has already signed the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and it is hoped that it will sign the more stringent Ottawa Treaty. She explained that since Arabic is an official language of Israel, the courts increasingly demand that government documents be issued in Arabic as well as in Hebrew. This could bring about the translation of maps and increase the protection of Israel's Arab population from landmines.
Mr. Ehud Uziel, Director of the International Humanitarian Law Project of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel added his voice to the call for the establishment of a body that will deal with the issue of landmine clearance in Israel. Since he sees the matter as a social-civil matter, he believes that a national civilian authority should be established in order to deal with this matter. It is his opinion that Israel has the opportunity to meet the legal and humanitarian standards set by the international community even if it does not sign the Ottawa Treaty. In his view, as a country that is sitting on a powder keg, it is incumbent upon Israel to distinguish between civilians and the military with regard to the issue of landmines.
Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer of the Israel Democracy Institute pointed out that the issue of landmines should be seen as an indication of the state's responsibility for its citizens. In his opinion, in Israel the government is not taking enough responsibility for this danger. Since civilian society has to pay the price for landmines, our responsibility to ourselves is to ensure that the price that is paid is not unnecessary. According to Prof. Kremnitzer, the Israeli defense system already faces manifold challenges; as such, the government should establish a new body to deal with mine clearance. He summed up the session by saying that the critical question facing the State of Israel and Israeli society in this regard is a moral question.