Ministry of Environmental Protection (Israel)

A 2005 Jerusalem Institute study described the Ministry of Environmental Protection as Israel's only ministry dedicated exclusively to environmental protection.[7] Its stated mission is to formulate and implement a comprehensive, integrated environmental policy at national, regional, and local levels, addressing everything from industrial emissions and solid waste to coastal ecosystems and climate resilience.[4][3] The Ministry uses regulatory, planning, and economic instruments alongside enforcement, education, and public information campaigns, and it treats the public as an important partner in advancing a more sustainable future.[4]

At the national level, the Ministry serves as the central headquarters for setting environmental policy across areas including natural resources, local government, industry, and physical planning; it also promotes environmental standards and guides relevant bodies in implementing policy.[3] Six district offices translate headquarters policy into local action, adapting national directives to the environmental conditions of their regions.[1][3] Supporting this structure are approximately 50 environmental units embedded in cities and municipal unions — including units serving minority-sector communities — which connect national policy with local implementation and advise local authorities on environmental matters.[3]

Despite its central role, environmental authority in Israel is distributed across multiple ministries. A 2005 Jerusalem Institute analysis found that at least 16 of 22 ministries were legally authorized to handle environmental matters, and that the Ministry of Environmental Protection shared authority for most of the environmental laws within its remit with an average of five additional government ministries.[7] The study presented coordination as a structural necessity because many environmental issues cross ministry boundaries.[8]

Israel's organized approach to environmental governance has its roots in global developments of the early 1970s. Before the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, environmental responsibilities in Israel were scattered across several ministries with no dedicated coordinating body.[2] The Stockholm conference proved pivotal: in the summer of 1972, environmental administrator Uri Marinov returned from Stockholm and proposed to minister Yigal Allon that Israel establish a dedicated government body for environmental matters.[9] Allon tasked Justice Ministry director-general Zvi Tarlow with leading a planning team that included Interior Ministry director-general Haim Kubersky, Finance Ministry representative Dan Halperin, and Marinov himself.[9]

The team debated whether the new body should take the form of a ministry, an independent authority, or a service. Marinov advocated a decentralized model: an environmental unit in each government ministry coordinated by a service housed in the Prime Minister's Office. Kubersky, by contrast, proposed locating the body in the Interior Ministry. Allon ultimately supported Marinov's preferred location, but the approved proposal was substantially narrower than Marinov's original vision.[9] The government formally approved the establishment of the Environmental Protection Service in March 1973 — the account records that Allon brought the proposal to the cabinet while Prime Minister Golda Meir was abroad, and declared it adopted before Marinov had finished addressing Agriculture Minister Haim Gvati's objection.[9] Marinov became the Service's first and only director.[9]

The Environmental Protection Service was established with about 15 employees and was empowered to coordinate environmental administration, prepare an annual environmental report, develop the basis for an environmental impact assessment system, and promote environmental education and public awareness.[10] Although the Service had no enforcement powers, it helped establish environmental education programs, develop regulations and legislation, organize regional Associations of Towns for Environmental Protection, create municipal Local Environmental Units, and bring environmental protection onto Israel's political agenda.[10] Marinov later recalled: "Everyone in Israel wants to coordinate, but no one wants to be coordinated."[9]

The Service initially resided in the Prime Minister's Office but moved to the Ministry of the Interior in 1976.[11] It operated for approximately fifteen years before the Ministry of the Environment was formally established by Government Decision No. 5, dated December 25, 1988, with the Ministry becoming operational in 1989.[2][3] The 1988 ministerial portfolio was assigned to Roni Milo, and one account frames it as the institutional culmination of environmental administration that had matured since 1973, shaped in part by the growth of the global environmental establishment and the founding of the UN Environment Programme.[12] Over the course of the 1990s, government decisions transferred additional environmental authority from other ministries to the new ministry, and intergovernmental organization of environmental protection expanded.[13]

In the early 2000s, the government adopted a strategic program for sustainable development in Israel.[8] The Ministry also initiated a sustainable-development strategy in the mid-1990s with assistance from the UN Environment Programme's Mediterranean Action Plan, and a government decision of August 4, 2002, called for the Minister to report on the Johannesburg Summit and ways to incorporate its conclusions into government policy.[11] In June 2006, Cabinet Decision No. 193 approved Environmental Minister Gideon Ezra's request to rename the ministry from the Ministry of the Environment to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Ezra explained that the new name better reflected the ministry's aims, stating: "The environment in Israel needs protection and we do this day by day, hour by hour."[1]

The Ministry employs approximately 600 workers organized into six main divisions with professional departments, operating across both central headquarters and six district offices.[1] Its 2025 budget proposal describes functional clusters covering enforcement; natural resources and climate resilience; industry; local government, education, and community; policy planning and strategy; and administration and human resources.[3] The work of these clusters ranges from criminal enforcement and nature conservation to pollution-source mapping, waste treatment and recycling, environmental education, strategic planning, and management of the Ministry's budget and staff.[3]

The six district offices — Central, Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem, Northern, Tel Aviv, and Southern — follow a geographical division corresponding to that of the Interior Ministry.[1] District offices are responsible for implementing national policy, participating in planning processes, informing municipalities about their environmental responsibilities, and supervising and enforcing environmental laws in municipalities. Their work also encompasses setting environmental conditions for business licenses, guiding local environmental units, and initiating and promoting district environmental projects.[1]

Several specialized departments carry out the Ministry's core technical and scientific functions. The Environmental Planning Department integrates environmental perspectives into national and local planning processes, with aims including the efficient use of natural resources, preservation of open spaces, environmentally friendly infrastructure, and prevention of harm to people and the environment.[14] It presents environmental perspectives to planning committees, guides regional and local planning bodies, initiates environmental impact assessments for major projects such as power stations, airports, roads, railways, ports, and marinas, and advises lawmakers on environmental planning.[14]

The Policies and Strategies Department operates across four main areas: planning and strategy; improving regulation; environmental economics; and innovative policy tools and environmental technologies.[15] Its responsibilities include assessing environmental conditions, preparing strategic plans and annual work plans, evaluating proposed regulation, developing environmental financial tools such as taxes and subsidies, supporting Israeli environmental technology initiatives, and promoting sustainable production and consumption.[15]

The Chief Scientist's Bureau strengthens the professional basis for Ministry activity by funding environmental research through requests for proposals, advising Ministry leadership on scientific and technological matters, setting and funding research priorities, collecting environmental data, and preparing reports including the annual State of the Environment report.[16] It also promotes cross-disciplinary knowledge and maintains research cooperation domestically and internationally.[16]

Among the entities under the Minister's responsibility are the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Environmental Services Company Ltd., Yarkon River Authority, Kishon River Authority, Ariel Sharon Park Company Ltd., Be'er Sheva River Park Authority, and Coastal Cliff Company.[3]

The Ministry's primary enforcement arm is the Green Police, which conducts criminal enforcement and investigations of environmental violations.[5] Administrative enforcement is carried out in parallel by Ministry districts and departments, with the Green Police coordinating national operations alongside district offices and cooperating with local authorities and other agencies.[5] Enforcement activity spans waste and cleanliness, sewage, air quality, hazardous substances, asbestos, and vehicle pollution.[5]

The legal foundation for the Ministry's inspection and enforcement powers was significantly strengthened by the Environmental Protection (Inspection and Enforcement Authorities) Law, passed by the Knesset on March 28, 2011.[17] The law aimed to protect, maintain, and improve environmental quality and prevent harm to the environment and public health by defining and extending Ministry employees' inspection and enforcement powers, applying a unified enforcement system to a broad list of existing environmental and public-health laws.[17]

Under the 2011 law, the Minister of Environmental Protection may appoint inspectors to investigate violations. Inspectors are authorized to request identification and relevant information or documents, take measurements and samples, enter facilities or vehicles, question suspects and potential witnesses, seize items connected to offenses, and request search warrants.[17] Entry into residential areas requires a judicial warrant. Inspectors may detain certain uncooperative individuals, those suspected of intending to flee, or those whose identities are unknown, until a police officer arrives.[17] Inspectors are generally required to wear identifiable clothing, carry identification, and hold a minister-signed document attesting to their authority, subject to exceptions where presenting such documentation could hamper their work or endanger someone.[17]

An INSS study states that environmental enforcement powers were allocated exclusively to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. It also assessed implementation as problematic, arguing that enforcement was sometimes lacking and that government decisions could go unimplemented or fail to identify who was responsible for carrying them out.[6]

A 2019 INSS study reported more than 350 laws, orders, directives, and other regulatory instruments directly or indirectly related to environmental protection.[6] The study described the framework as organized around separate rules for different categories of pollution rather than a single integrated approach covering industrial pollution holistically.[6] The Ministry holds responsibility for permits concerning emissions, waste, and poisons, while environmental approvals may also involve local authorities, planning and building committees, and other government bodies covering water, health, workplace safety, and hazardous-material transport.[6]

The Clean Air Law, 5768-2008, took effect in January 2011 and established a framework for reducing and preventing air pollution, imposing obligations on government, local authorities, and industry.[18] The law provides for emission limits and permits for major industrial polluters, publication of air-quality data and forecasts, pollutant monitoring and sampling, enforcement mechanisms, and penalties for violations. It authorizes the Minister to set target values for specified compounds in the air, alongside ambient air-quality values and short-term alert thresholds.[18] A 2012 amendment addressed permits for equipment producing high levels of toxic emissions: draft permits were to be posted on the Ministry's website, and the public could comment within 45 days of publication of a notice in a widely distributed local newspaper.[19] The amendment temporarily allowed the comment period to be shortened to 21 days for essential services or products where delay could cause grave harm to the public, with one stated rationale being the need to expedite permits for gas engines used to produce electricity during an anticipated electricity shortage.[19]

The Knesset passed the Environmental Protection (Pollutant and Transfers to the Environment – Duties of Reporting and Registration) Law on March 19, 2012, seeking to increase transparency of environmental information, encourage factories to reduce pollutant releases and transfers, and support decision-making, research, and policy based on environmental justice.[20] The law required annual reporting by listed factories and created a free, internet-accessible register, with additional information available through a geographic information system on the Ministry's website.[20] The explanatory note accompanying the law stated that, based on global experience, the listed factories were responsible for 90% of pollutant release and transfer.[20]

The Regulation of Processing of Packaging Law, passed on January 19, 2011, addressed production and processing of packaging waste through measures to reduce packaging volume, prevent waste dumping, encourage recycling, and limit packaging's environmental impact.[21] The law authorized the Minister, in consultation with the industry minister and with Knesset Economics Committee approval, to regulate manufacturers' environmental impact at the production stage and to impose labeling obligations. Manufacturers and importers were also required to recycle specified proportions of packaging materials by material type and report to the Minister twice a year.[21]

The Prevention of Hazards from Asbestos and Harmful Dust Law, also passed on March 28, 2011, aimed to prevent and minimize environmental and health hazards from asbestos and similar materials.[22] It set restrictions on removal and dumping of existing asbestos and on continued use in industrial facilities, public places, and Israel Defense Forces equipment and vehicles, and required licensing for those who routinely worked with asbestos.[22] The Minister of Environmental Protection was empowered to appoint a professional advisory committee drawing on Ministry employees, representatives of other government bodies, occupational safety experts, the IDF, local authorities, and environmental organizations.[22]

Environmental impact assessment is a central tool in Israel's approach to environmental regulation and has been described as one of the cornerstones of environmental regulation in Israel and worldwide.[6] The Israeli assessment system dates to 1982 legislation, with relevant regulations updated in 2003.[6] The process is embedded in Israel's planning and building framework and is designed to identify the expected effects of proposed projects and prevent or mitigate harm before construction or operation begins.[6]

The Ministry's Planning Branch plays a defined role in the process: it prepares assessment instructions, evaluates submitted assessments with environmental experts, and provides an opinion to the planning authority, which retains the decision-making power on whether to approve a plan.[6] When requested by the planning authority, the Ministry formulates instructions covering expected environmental impacts, alternatives, and steps to prevent or reduce harm.[6]

Assessments are required by regulation for a specified class of major infrastructure projects, including airports, power plants, ports, and hazardous-waste disposal sites.[6] Planning institutions may also require an assessment for other projects or plans they consider environmentally problematic. The planning authority evaluates whether a submitted assessment adequately covers the required environmental implications within three months, with Ministry assistance.[6]

The Environmental Planning Department handles the Ministry's ongoing engagement with planning processes more broadly, presenting environmental perspectives to planning committees, guiding regional and local planning bodies, and advising lawmakers on environmental planning matters.[14]

Waste management constitutes one of the Ministry's most operationally demanding responsibilities. The Ministry's 2020 waste strategy set objectives to reduce waste sent to landfills, increase recycling, and develop alternatives such as sorting, treatment, and energy-recovery facilities.[23] A 2025 State Comptroller follow-up audit reported that recycling stood at approximately 26% in 2023, while 68% of waste continued to be sent to landfills in southern Israel.[23] The audit also found that remaining landfill capacity at the beginning of 2025 was 7.67 million cubic meters and was projected to be inadequate for anticipated waste by the end of 2026 if the Ministry's plan was not implemented.[23]

The same audit identified a structural challenge: while waste management is the Ministry's responsibility, the Ministry lacked sufficient authority to effectively promote and implement plans across all relevant forums, and faced dependencies on other bodies — including the Israel Land Authority and Planning Administration — in efforts to expand landfill capacity and advance waste facilities.[23]

On climate, the 36th government pursued long-term objectives covering greenhouse-gas emissions, air-pollution reduction, energy efficiency, and clean transportation through government resolutions issued in 2021 and 2022.[24] In 2022, a climate bill promoted by the Ministry passed its first reading, and the Ministry advanced funding for adaptation measures, including support for local municipalities, urban shading, flood prevention, and green construction.[25] At the same time, policy gaps remained, including delays in implementing government decisions and the absence of an enacted climate law at that time.[25]

The Ministry also participated in the Israel Sustainability Outlook 2030 initiative, conducted jointly with the Environmental Policy Center at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies during 2010–2012. The project brought together experts in economy, society, public policy, planning, ecology, energy, and water, with the purpose of presenting decision-makers with social, economic, and environmental trends, formulating a sustainability vision, identifying gaps between existing trends and that vision, and proposing routes toward a sustainable future.[26]

The Ministry has pursued environmental cooperation beyond Israel's borders across several fronts. In the early 2000s, it promoted laws to protect the coastal environment, and it helped develop a marine-pollution emergency preparedness plan whose principles the government formally adopted in June 2008 — approximately eight years after the initial government-assigned deadline.[27][24] The Ministry's described roles in that plan included coordinating agencies, supporting local emergency plans, and organizing preparedness, incident response, and environmental restoration.[27]

In 2022, then-Minister Tamar Zandberg expressed hope for stronger regional environmental cooperation and held discussions with Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmin Fuad about the possibility of a Middle East climate forum.[24] That year, the Israeli government instructed ministries to prepare for the COP27 climate conference and to promote joint environmental projects with Egypt.[24] Adam Schalimtzek, head of the Ministry's International Relations Division, described cross-border environmental cooperation as "collaboration between entities whose sovereign territory does not overlap, and which contributes to improvement of the environmental situation" in fields such as clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and clean transportation.[24]

An INSS analysis described environmental responsibilities in Israel as distributed among different ministries and said Israel lacked an overall integrative governmental environmental strategy during the period it examined.[24]

The State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel has examined Ministry operations in several audit cycles. A follow-up audit covering January 2018 through June 2022 counted 5,199 environmental hazards recorded in Ministry information systems, while noting that the database was incomplete because districts did not document all hazards.[28] Among 3,674 documented substantial hazards from that period, 2,203 — approximately 60% — had not been subject to administrative or criminal enforcement procedures.[28] Some hazards were handled through informal "arrangement" rather than formal enforcement, a practice the audit found was inadequately documented and not governed by unified rules.[28] The audit also found that Ministry factory visits declined from 5,680 in 2018 to 3,182 in 2021, a decrease of approximately 44%.[28] In response to the earlier audit reported in 2019, the Ministry said it accepted most of the Comptroller's comments and was continuing to increase supervision and enforcement.[29]

Structurally, the Ministry's authority is constrained by the breadth of other ministries involved in environmental governance. A Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies study found that the Ministry of the Interior alone held authority over 52 environmental laws — more than any other ministry — and retained exclusive authority over 10% of them, even though government decisions and parliamentary approval had provided for transferring all Interior Ministry environmental activity to the environment ministry.[7] The study argued that fragmented authority created a need for coordination and could lead to duplication, conflicts of interest, and uncertainty about which body would act.[7]

A Jewish Virtual Library account reports that 52 environmental units and town associations operate in municipalities across the country, collectively providing services to approximately 85% of Israel's population.[1] These units implement national environmental policy locally and advise local authorities on environmental issues, representing a key link between the Ministry's central directives and on-the-ground conditions.[1] The Ministry's 2025 budget proposal separately reports support for approximately 50 environmental units, including units serving minority-sector communities.[3]