The High Court of Justice has issued an interim order freezing regulations that compel large towns to add fluoride to their water supplies.

The order, issued Tuesday by Justice Eliezer Rivlin, will remain in force for three months until the Court has debated a petition by the Union of Local Authorities, Herzliya council and the Israel Union of Environmental Defense to annul these laws on grounds that fluoride is dangerous to humans and the environment.

The orders, approved by the Health Ministry in 1998, compel any town with over 5,000 residents to add fluoride to the drinking water. Most towns receive water from the Mkerot water company, which adds fluoride anyway, and so these regulations do not apply. Towns and cities, such as Herzliya, Kfar Sava, Rehovot, Kiryat Ono, Ra’anana and Bat Yam which have private water sources, do fall under the guidelines.

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