Governmental and non-governmental organizations unanimously agreed on the importance of regulating the quarries and stone production sector
AMAN Coalition calls for the adoption of a unified legislation regulating the quarries and stone production sector and the establishment of a one-stop-shop
Ramallah - The Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN) held a discussion session for a draft report entitled: “Integrity and Transparency in Quarry and Stone production Licensing Mechanisms”. The report aims to enhance the environment of integrity, transparency and accountability in the mechanisms, procedures and criteria for granting quarry and stone production licenses. The report refers to assessment of compliance and immunization from the risks of corruptions, by assessing the level of the transparency of work procedures and accountability systems for quarries and stone production licensing and control, as well as the challenges faced by this sector. It concludes with practical recommendations that help decision makers in regulating this important sector.
The session’s opening remarks were made by Issam Haj Hussein, AMAN Coalition’s Executive Director, who shed light on the industry of stone and marble in Palestine as an important economic resource and key component of the Palestinian industry. The sector, especially in the West Bank, is a strategic pillar of sustainable and comprehensive development due to its strategic reserve of this high-quality raw material. Haj Hussein focused on the key role of this sector in the Palestinian economy while diagnosing the challenges that quaries and stone production face because of the Israeli occupation arbitrary policies and measures. Other problems relate to the Palestinian legislative, institutional and procedural aspects and multiplicity of licensing authorities.
Stoen and queries sector is key to Palestinian development and economy
Researcher Dr. Abdul Rahim Taha reviewed the report, pointing out the importance of the quarrying and stone production sector, which is one of the largest industrial sectors, as the sector contributes about (5) % of GDP and (4. This sector also exports Palestinian exports, as the exports of the construction sector in the period (2012-2020) amounted to about one and a half billion dollars.
Dr. Taha pointed to the challenges facing this sector, whether in terms of granting licenses related to these facilities and the multiplicity of legislation and related parties, especially with regard to environmental, health and safety standards.
Israeli occupation policies are a threat that requires strengthening the reorganization of the quarrying and stone production sector in order to strengthen resilience
The quarrying and stone production sector faces many issues and challenges, part of which is related to the policy of the Israeli occupation authorities, in terms of their control over granting licenses to quarries and crushers in Area C, while there are Israeli quarries and crushers licensed in Palestinian areas by the Israeli Civil Administration. Furthermore, the sector endures daily arbitrary measures of the occupation by raiding quarries, confiscating their equipment and imposing heavy fines on their owners, as well as Israeli measures and restrictions on crossings that hinder the passage of their products to the Israeli market and the outside world. In addition, there is a proliferation of random or unregulated quarries and crushers in all governorates of the country, which causes damage to agricultural and environmental lands and residential communities, as there are quarries and crushers operating without a license, with complaints from citizens about environmental damage, in addition to the weak role of local government bodies in following up the requirements for the establishment of these quarries and crushers. According to the report, the number of existing challenges requires the adoption of a national policy to regulate this sector, including pre-prepared plans about the locations of their establishment, and the role of this in balancing the national interest with the economic, environmental and other interests.
There are 11 pieces of legislation that contain powers, procedures and responsibilities related to the licensing of quarries and crushers without a one-stop-shop
The multiplicity of these legislations increase the bureaucratic burden on citizens in licensing procedures or renewing licenses, and weakens the oversight system, which poses a challenge to achieving the principles of transparency, integrity, and accountability in the licensing process and monitoring the work of these facilities. The Council of Ministers has not issued the executive regulations for the Natural Resources Law and the single window system for licensing quarries and crushers.
Although the Industrial Law requires the establishment of a single window (one-stop-shop) for licensing quarries and crushers, it has not yet been established. Instead, the Ministry of National Economy - currently the Ministry of Industry - is responsible for licensing quarries and crushers, in coordination with ministries and government institutions such as the Ministries of Local Government, Agriculture, Health, and the Environmental Quality Authority.
Regarding the publication policy, government agencies related to the licensing of quarries and crushers publish information related to the licensing process in terms of requirements, forms, procedures, and fees on their websites and in their procedures manuals, and the Ministry of National Economy publishes monthly and annual reports on the number of quarries that are licensed and renewed. However, contrary to what is required by Law No. (42) of 2021 on Companies, the real owners of companies are not published, which provides opportunities for individuals or companies to act as a front for any Palestinian or foreign hidden entity to obtain licenses and carry out work for these entities, which weakens official and community oversight, and impunity in cases of conflicts of interest.
Uniform legislation regulating the licensing process for quarries and crushers
The participants agreed on the need to adopt unified legislation regulating the licensing process for quarries and crushers, and other detailed issues related to the licensing process, and to follow up on correcting the status of informal establishments, and to allocate specific areas for the establishment of quarries and crushers based on studies prepared in advance in this regard, taking into account all geological, economic, environmental and health aspects, while adhering to the conditions, procedures and requirements necessary for the licensing process, and not violating their provisions.
They also agreed on the need to establish a one-stop-shop for licensing quarries and crushers at the Ministry of Industry, in coordination with the competent authorities, in compliance with the provisions of the Law on Industry, and to activate governmental control and periodic inspection of this sector, in addition to adopting a clear and specific national policy for licensing quarries and crushers that encourages Palestinian investment, enhances the steadfastness of Palestinians in areas designated (C) in the first place, and sets controls for investment in the quarries and crushers sector.
Interventions of participants in the meeting:
For his part, Suhail Harzallah of the Ministry of Industry, which was created from the Ministry of National Economy, emphasized that there are no exceptional decisions for any party on the issue of establishing quarries and crushers. Harzallah stressed the importance of regulating this sector, in terms of having a unified system for the entire process, as well as a unified window, noting that a draft quarry and quarry licensing system was submitted to the Council of Ministers two years ago, under which a licensing committee would study all files submitted to it. Harzallah also pointed out the importance of activating monitoring and inspection of this sector.
Manal Farhan, legal advisor at the Ministry of Industry, denied that there are any licensed random crushers, as this requires a change of use to “industrial,” which requires the approval of the Ministry of Local Government, Agriculture, and the Environmental Quality Authority.
According to lawyer Murad al-Madani, legal advisor to the EQA, any license issued without going through the Environmental Assessment Committee (EAC) is subject to court challenge. The EAC is made up of 11 official institutions that recommend whether or not to issue an environmental approval based on technical, legal, and regulatory considerations. Before that whole process, there is the Environmental Approvals Committee (EAC). Al-Madani also emphasized the importance of oversight of the sector for the purpose of reform and development.
Engineer Amjad Kharaz of the Environmental Quality Authority explained the need to activate monitoring and enforce strict measures and fines for unlicensed quarries that violate the regulations of their locations.
Lieutenant Colonel Nael Al-Azza from the Civil Defense commented on safe investment in quarries and crushers, spending on safety and prevention conditions and correcting their conditions, as any facility to be licensed must obtain a license from the Civil Defense.
Dr. Maher Hashish, Secretary-General of the General Federation of Industries, stressed that economic empowerment is the guarantee of the citizen's steadfastness on his land, noting that the stone sector is one of the strategic sectors and the first pillar of exports, and therefore the need to invest and employ it to provide job opportunities for tens of thousands of workers, including former workers in Israel before October 7th. Dr. Hashish criticized the weak role of the government in supporting this sector, and the failure to implement the recommendations of the ministerial committees emanating from it.
Businessman Mustafa Al-Turaifi stressed some technical issues that must be corrected in terms of the area of licensed crushers, and the need to locate them outside the municipal boundaries, in a low-value area, at least 500-1000 meters away from the boundaries of the structural plan.
Al-Turaifi referred to the challenges we face from the Israeli occupation, explaining the measures that contribute to weakening the ability of the Palestinian investor to compete with Israeli crushers within the Green Line, explaining that there are 68 crushers, which are located on public government lands, leased under contracts for up to 49 years, and built on low-value lands, subject to an organized process of granting licenses with environmental monitoring, and their production comes many times what is produced in the West Bank. He called on the official authorities to support this national sector by strengthening control over random and unlicensed facilities.
Ayman Shaheen, legal advisor at the Bureau of Financial and Administrative Control, said that the stone sector needs to strengthen its regulation, the importance of subjecting it to control, and preparing control reports about it, especially environmental ones, in accordance with international standards.
For his part, Issam Abdel Halim, Director General of Complaints, Reporting and Investigation at the Anti-Corruption Commission, confirmed the existence of abuses in the quarries and crushers sector, commenting on the possibility of addressing them as shown in the details of the complaints received by the Commission, noting in turn that the Commission has received many complaints of suspected corruption in this sector, especially in the matter of granting licenses. Abdel Halim also noted that encroachers in areas labeled “C” can be stopped by various means.
