Israel begins clearing 'ticking bombs'
- 12 years ago
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This farm in southern Israel is a fertile environment for peppers, and according to the Defense Ministry, it's also rich in landmines. So many, in fact, that the government considers them a 'ticking bomb' for farmers and others in the area.
To deal with the problem, army officials have brought in the Mine Wolf (over image of de-mining tractor) and specially equipped teams to start clearing mines in the area stretching from the Dead Sea into the Arava Desert.
SOUNDBITE: Michael Haiman, Director Of Technology And Information Management For The Israeli National Mine Action Authority saying:
"Our goal is to clean them (mines) as efficiently as possible and to release the land in order to give it back to the people."
For locals, the effort is welcome news.
SOUNDBITE: Bari, Israeli Farmer saying:
"We always have it in the back of our minds that maybe at some point we might hit something (audio of explosion in background from de-mining). Now we can see actually how many land mines are here."
The government says an estimated 7,000 mines are buried along this 59 acre stretch along Israel's border with Jordan.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.
This farm in southern Israel is a fertile environment for peppers, and according to the Defense Ministry, it's also rich in landmines. So many, in fact, that the government considers them a 'ticking bomb' for farmers and others in the area.
To deal with the problem, army officials have brought in the Mine Wolf (over image of de-mining tractor) and specially equipped teams to start clearing mines in the area stretching from the Dead Sea into the Arava Desert.
SOUNDBITE: Michael Haiman, Director Of Technology And Information Management For The Israeli National Mine Action Authority saying:
"Our goal is to clean them (mines) as efficiently as possible and to release the land in order to give it back to the people."
For locals, the effort is welcome news.
SOUNDBITE: Bari, Israeli Farmer saying:
"We always have it in the back of our minds that maybe at some point we might hit something (audio of explosion in background from de-mining). Now we can see actually how many land mines are here."
The government says an estimated 7,000 mines are buried along this 59 acre stretch along Israel's border with Jordan.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.