Israeli Environment Ministry to Close Haifa Ammonia Storage Tank

Israeli environment ministry announced on Wednesday it would not renew an ammonia storage tank’s permit to operate in the coastal city of Haifa.

Last week, the Haifa Court for Local Affairs gave the Haifa Group, a fertilizer producer that operates the tank, until February 26 to remove the liquid-form chemical from its tank on the bay. An initial ruling on February 12 had given the company until February 22 to clear out the container.

The ruling was granted to the municipality in the wake of a city-sponsored report that found that the facility posed a serious threat to public health, especially in light of threats to target it. The report said hundreds of thousands of people would be killed if a ship that delivers ammonia to the facility were to rupture.

After initially signaling that it would abide by the ruling, the company filed an appeal, slamming the Haifa municipality as “demagogues” trying to “sow fear among the public.”

On Wednesday, Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) said he would not renew the Haifa Group’s permit to operate the ammonia storage facility, apparently indicating the tank would be closed.

Elkin said in a statement that he reached his decision “in light of the fact that there is no solution on the horizon” and because “the [ammonia] tank places the public and the environment in danger, which we cannot abide.”

The announcement comes a week after Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah threatened the Israeli enemy with game-changing surprises should it launch any stupid war against Lebanon.

His eminence stressed that Hezbollah missiles will hit ammonia tank wherever it was moved across the Zionist entity, advising the Israelis to dismantle the Dimona reactor.