Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman said Sunday that environmental organizations are “fighting the state,” after several leading groups filed a petition with High Court of Justice against her and Justice Minister and Acting Interior Affairs Minister Yariv Levin.

“The environmental organizations are fighting the state. I blocked them,” Silman said during the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Her remarks came about a week and a half after four environmental groups — the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Adam Teva V’Din, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), and Life and Environment — petitioned the High Court. The groups are demanding that the government restore their representation on national and regional planning committees, appointments that have been delayed for more than two years. They argue that the delay undermines public oversight of environmental decisions and weakens professional input on infrastructure and development projects.

Silman, who has clashed repeatedly with environmental organizations since taking office, accused them of promoting “politicized activism” rather than working in the state’s interest. Her comments reflected ongoing friction between the ministry and long-established green groups that say the government is marginalizing professional and civil society voices in environmental policy.

Meanwhile, Silman also addressed pollution caused by illegal waste burning in the West Bank, which residents in central Israel say has worsened in recent months. Communities including Modi’in, Shoham, Rosh Ha’ayin, Petah Tikva and others have long complained of foul odors and heavy smoke drifting from across the Green Line, the result of unauthorized waste fires in areas under Palestinian Authority control.

“Because the Palestinian people do not exist, they also do not care for the land,” Silman said during the meeting. “Fires break out almost daily. We are doing hard work to maintain environmental governance.”

Environmental advocates say the problem has persisted for years, leading to severe air pollution and health risks. The nonprofit Citizens for Clean Air said Sunday it had received about 1,800 reports of waste-burning incidents in the West Bank since the start of October — an increase of roughly 80 percent compared with September and nearly four times the number recorded in August.

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the group urged him to convene an emergency discussion on the matter, warning that “the phenomenon, which has continued for many years, has in recent weeks reached unprecedented proportions and is harming the health of hundreds of thousands of Israelis.”

The group cited a March 2024 State Comptroller’s Report that found roughly 422,000 tons of waste are burned each year in the West Bank, with more than 40 percent of it causing serious cross-border pollution. The report estimated the external costs of the pollution at about 1.3 billion shekels ($340 million) annually.

Citizens for Clean Air also noted that a 2023 government decision to prepare a comprehensive plan to address the problem has yet to be implemented. The inter-ministerial team established to carry out that plan has not completed its work, despite being allotted six months. “As a result, no government body has assumed overall responsibility for the issue,” the group wrote, adding that “thousands of residents report direct harm to their health from exposure to toxic smoke.”

The letter concluded with a warning that “continued inaction means a death sentence for hundreds of Israelis every year, loss of control over one of Israel’s most serious public health hazards, and a blow to public trust in the state’s ability to protect the health of its citizens.”

Silman’s comments underscored both her tense relationship with Israel’s environmental community and the growing public frustration over air pollution from the West Bank — a long-standing environmental and political challenge that successive governments have yet to resolve.