Our Projects- Bethlehem Green City
Since October 7, 2023, the situation in Palestine has changed dramatically, making it extremely difficult to operate on the ground. In fact, increasing instability has led in the past year to the repeated reorganization of the activities of our Bethlehem Green City Project*, which aims to improve municipal solid waste management in the West Bank through separate waste collection and urban circular economy initiatives.
One of the main goals of the project is to raise environmental awareness in schools that, due to the conflict, have suffered alternating periods of opening and closing. A situation that forced us to reschedule activities and proceed with caution. In fact, tensions arising from attacks-from Iran, Lebanon and Israeli incursions-have affected several areas of the West Bank, imposing continuous disruptions to daily life.
Exchanges of experience between Italy and Palestine also underwent a change from the initial schedule. In fact, the last visit to Italy, initially scheduled for early 2024, was postponed to July, when security conditions for travel allowed; while the planned meetings in Palestine with Italian sustainability experts were postponed to the end of the year, as it is still difficult to enter the country for now. This difficulty also involves the expatriate staff, who found themselves first having to forcibly return to Italy and now continuing to follow the project remotely. Coordinating the team and activities is therefore an even greater challenge and at times frustrating, but the will to keep the impact of our initiatives on the community high is nonetheless strong.
In fact, in such a scenario of insecurity, we still managed with determination and pragmatism to carry out the activities envisaged by the project: the construction of the eco-center, the purchase of the waste collection trucks and the paper and cardboard compactor, the finalization of environmental awareness activities for the benefit of the community, and the support of circular economy start-ups. These achievements thus demonstrate the strength and resilience of the people involved who, despite everything, are determined to achieve the planned goals.
*project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.