800 Israeli Layoffs as Hizbullah-Threatened Ammonia Tank Closes

Around 800 employees will be laid off in the court-ordered closure of a major Israeli ammonia storage facility previously threatened by Hizbullah, the owners announced Wednesday.

The head of U.S.-owned Haifa Chemicals, Jules Trump, told Israeli army radio the company was dismissing 800 workers in two plants that processed the ammonia.

"We have lost hundreds of millions of shekels (tens of millions of dollars) in recent months because, contrary to the promises of the government, there is no alternative solution on the horizon," he said.

The Israeli Supreme Court last week confirmed a ruling ordering the closure of the 12,000-ton facility located in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, giving the company until September 18 to empty it completely.

The ruling brought to an end a years-long legal battle over the site.

Residents and environmentalists had been warning of the risks of an accident or explosion at the container in the densely populated Mediterranean port city.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in 2016 that a missile strike on the tank would have the effect of a "nuclear bomb," increasing calls for its closure.

Nasrallah, whose group targeted the Haifa area in a 2006 war with Israel, echoed warnings from experts and activists cited in Israeli media that "tens of thousands of people" would be killed in case the container was struck.

Ammonia, used in fertilizers, is poisonous to humans.

Haifa Chemicals sells some of the ammonia that the group imports to chemical plants, weapons companies and wastewater treatment plants.