Several fishermen and boat owners have filed a class-action suit against the government over the massive oil spill that stained Israel's shores earlier this year, Israel Hayom learned Sunday.
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February's oil spill affected Israel's coastline from north to south and has been labeled the country's worst natural disaster in decades.
Black strips of oil stretched across 160 kilometers (90 miles) of the country's Mediterranean coastline from Haifa in the north to Ashkelon in the south.
At Gador Nature Reserve near the northern city of Hadera, fish, turtles, and other sea creatures were found covered in tar.
Environmental experts said the incident took a devastating toll on the shore's ecosystem.
The class-action suit, which is pending the Tel Aviv District Court's approval, asserts that "longtime neglect and prioritizing business interest led to this disaster, which was entirely avoidable."
According to the lawsuit, many ship-owners and fishermen have completely lost their livelihoods as a result of the spill.
The plaintiffs estimate that fishermen operating along the coast have suffered 7.5 million shekels ($2.4 million) in damages, while the damage to the ship-owners amounts to about NIS 18 million ($5.8 million).
The filing further states that the Finance, Health, Agriculture, and Environmental Protection ministries, which are named in the suit, failed to prevent water pollution following the oil spill and later failed to compensate the fishermen and ship-owners.
"The State of Israel has received compensation in the amount of NIS 50 million [$16 million], and it is appropriate that the fishermen who were forced out of their jobs would receive some of the reparation," the attorneys representing the plaintiffs said.
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