A fully equipped fire engine donated by Dundee firefighters to their counterparts in the West Bank city of Nablus could be sent back to Scotland after being impounded for more than a year by Israeli authorities.
Firefighters in Dundee, which is twinned with Nablus, have regularly donated kit, equipment and medical supplies to the West Bank over the past 15 years, as well as bringing Palestinian firefighters to Scotland for training.
While those donations were often delayed by the Israeli authorities, Jim Malone, of the Fire Brigades Union, said this appliance had been impounded since last July and Ashdod port authorities had now sent the municipality of Nablus a bill of £16,000 in accrued fees.
Malone said the FBU was now talking to the UK government about the prospect of repatriation to avoid leaving the municipality with high costs.
The retired appliance, which had been retrofitted with a right-hand drive, and contains first aid equipment and supplies for a children’s football team, was driven from Dundee to Southampton and then shipped to Ashdod. Efforts by the FBU to secure its release by pressing both the Israeli and UK governments have so far failed.
Malone, a former Dundee firefighter, said: “There’s a real hurt that you feel that it’s sitting in a port doing nothing.”
His previous efforts feature in the award-winning documentary Firefighters Under Occupation, which charts the daily challenges facing firefighters in the West Bank. “Firefighters have to contact Israeli forces to coordinate before they can fight a fire,” Malone said. “As a first responder, it’s something hard for us to imagine not being able to deliver your services in an instant.”
Scottish government officials have raised the issue with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) which is understood to have discussed the matter with Israeli authorities.
A FCDO spokesperson said: “The UK continues to call on Israel to increase humanitarian and commercial access into the Palestinian territories by ensuring all aid crossings are fully operational, international NGOs are permitted to operate freely and safely, and humanitarian supplies are allowed to reach those in need at the pace and scale that is necessary to tackle this crisis.”
The Israeli embassy has been contacted for comment.
