The High Court of Justice rejected a petition filed against the Dead Sea salt harvest by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense and the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.
The petition attempted to stop an the agreement signed by the Treasury and Dead Sea Works regarding the latter\’s royalties payments and the salt harvest, which is meant to stop the basin\’s north bank from flooding.
According to the deal, DWS agreed to fund 90% of the future salt harvest operation in the area, as well as pay higher royalties to the State.
According to News1, the court noted in its ruling, made on Thursday, that the government\’s decision-making process prior to greenlighting the deal "was comprehensive and involved the necessary professional elements relevant to the matter… therefore, the proposal outlined by the government cannot be dismissed as unreasonable."
The ruling added that while the government might have been able to formulate a different solution to the salt harvest operation, "The current plan does have certain advantages, mostly the realization of an effective solution to the time-sensitive issue of rising water levels."
The petition was rejected on technical grounds as well, as it was not endorsed by elements such as the hotels lining the Dead Sea\’s north bank and the adjacent Tamar Regional Council.
"It seems that the petitioners, in their rush to file this motion, failed to exhaust other measures… The petition\’s evidentiary basis is also lacking and in riddled with inaccuracies," the court said.
The court also ordered the petitioners to pay all the legal costs pertaining to the motion.