eco apartheid - Muslim Climate Watch

Israeli Bombs Pushing Towards Climate Devastation

Mediha Rasul — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 04:40:06 +0000

In the ongoing Israeli onslaught, Gazans are being subjected to indiscriminate and persistent bombardment, with safe havens such as hospitals, schools and refugee camps all being targeted by Israeli forces resulting in more than 11,000 Palestinian civilians killed including more than 4,000 children. The Gaza Strip is a densely populated area, home to over 2.3 million Palestinians, 50% of whom are children. Gaza has been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007. The denial of basic resources, including water, has left the 2 million-plus population, with an average of just 3 litres of water a day.

In addition to the ongoing humanitarian disaster and genocide of the Palestinian population, Israel’s bombing of Gaza is pushing us towards a climate catastrophe. The vast amount of explosives and the emissions produced as a result risks pushing the Earth beyond planetary boundaries, causing irreversible environmental damage. With the support of major Western powers such as the US and the UK, Israel is committing war crimes and destroying the planet in the process.

US Funding Genocide & Global Climate Devastation

The United States (US) continued and unequivocal support of Israel through diplomatic, military, and financial means, alongside rejecting calls for a ceasefire has enabled Israel to act with impunity. Artillery & machinery from US companies including Woodward Inc, and General Nucleonics are being used in the current and past attacks on Gaza. At the time of writing, Israel has dropped over 25,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza since October 7, 2023, equal to two nuclear bombs. With the number of children killed in Gaza in the past month surpassing annual child death tolls across all conflict zones as of 2019, the devastation of continued violence cannot be overstated.

Israel’s use of white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip, illegal under Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980), has been extensively reported by Human Rights Watch. Under the Protocol, the use of incendiary weapons and devices on civilian populations is strictly prohibited. Despite the existence of these international conventions and laws, Israel continues to bomb the besieged strip while the civilians have nowhere to go.

Every dollar the US spends on the military increases global GHG emissions while diverting financial resources, skills and attention away from addressing climate change.

Environmental Consequences

Israel’s use of white phosphorus also represents an environmental concern, causing widespread contamination of soil, water, and air. The toxic pollution and contamination produced by missiles, bombs and white phosphorus cause long-term environmental harm, affecting local ecosystems and wildlife. For a population already suffering under occupation and complete blockade, the contamination of food supplies by white phosphorus and bombs is devastating, increasing food insecurity and vulnerability of the population.

The relentless bombing of Gaza is pushing the Earth beyond its planetary boundaries—the environmental limits beyond which the Earth is at risk of irreversible change and environmental degradation.

The excessive bombing of Gaza has led to an increase in GHG emissions contributing to global warming and climate change. Widespread destruction caused by the bombings has reduced vegetation and biodiversity, disrupting the local ecosystems and contributing to the advancement of land system changes. The destruction of infrastructure further advances ecological thresholds, through the need to rebuild and intensive resource use, further increasing emissions. Similarly, the targeting of hospitals, schools and sanitation systems necessitates extensive rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of violence. These often require the extraction of resources, placing greater pressure on already scarce resources.

Prioritizing War Over Climate Action

Despite persistent calls from the scientific and climate community for the urgent need for climate action, Western countries continue to support military operations fuelling climate crisis, instead of allocating funds to climate action. World militaries account for 6% of global GHG emissions, with the US military alone being the largest institutional source of GHG emissions.

America’s $158 billion in bilateral assistance in the form of military aid and missile defence funding to Israel, showcases US complicity in Israel’s war crimes and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as well as projecting the nation’s focus on geopolitics as opposed to climate change and action.

The Biden administration is knowingly investing US taxpayer money towards a genocidal apartheid regime when the promised $100 billion of annual climate finance funding to developing nations bearing the brunt of climate change remains unfulfilled.

References

The post Israeli Bombs Pushing Towards Climate Devastation appeared first on Muslim Climate Watch.

Climate Oppression, Eco-Apartheid & Palestinian Occupation

Sarah Sattar — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 04:43:35 +0000

In the heart of a hot, arid, water-scarce region, the impact of climate change on Palestinians is intensified, particularly through the implementation of Israeli practices and policies. Israeli militarism and occupation of Palestine are dispossessing Palestinians of their land, violating their freedom of movement and their right to self-determination, rendering conditions that of an open-air prison. Israel’s policies of apartheid, and therefore eco-apartheid, compound the hostile living conditions for Palestinians as they brave newer threats of escalating negative impacts of climate change.

Israel practises eco-apartheid, a practice which commits ‘environmental abuse in order to marginalize a racially defined group’. This practice is mirrored in South Africa – where the government consigns most of their population to the ‘least healthy and least productive ecological contexts’, therefore, leaving them financially dependent on the capital of their oppressors – ‘White-owned capital’, specifically (Stull, Bell and Ncwadi, 2016). Green colonialism refers to the stark contrast of living achieved by the Global North at the hands of the Global South; ‘Global North achieves a high standard of living by exploiting the health, labour and land of the Global South’. (earth.org, 2021). This is carried out by Israel over the Palestinian territories through their ‘political and economic control of land, water and other natural resources’, thereby leaving Palestinians without autonomy over land cultivation and resource management (Persavalli, 2021). Israel further carries out its apartheid system by climate oppression – also known as ‘climate injustice’ – which is achieved through their withholding of resources, contributing to the active prevention of Palestinians from developing strategies to mitigate and resist the impacts of climate change (Al-Haq, 2021).

Green Colonialism through Land Theft

Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestinian lands has a significant impact on the ability of Palestinians to maintain their livelihoods and adapt to the changing climate. Intense militarization with arbitrary checkpoints across Occupied Palestine severely limits the freedom of movement of its people, forcing them to go through dehumanizing processes of apartheid whilst they go about their everyday lives.

The planting of pine forests, which deliberately resemble European landscape imagery for the European Jewish settlers, contain highly acidic pine needles. When fallen, these pines destroy the shrubbery and plants growing on the land. In turn, this affects the grazing available for animals that shepherds rely on for their livelihoods (Lorber, 2018).

The Israeli government continues to commit green colonialism in Palestine, evident through its practice of pilfering large amounts of Palestinian land under the pretence of environmental protection.

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) set about creating over 1000 parks for Israeli residents, under the guise of ‘greenification’ of supposed ‘desolate desert areas’. Under the slogan, ‘Make the desert bloom’, the installation of these parks had a more devastating purpose than it would appear. These forests included ‘fast-growing pines’, which were ‘strategically placed atop the ruins of destroyed Palestinian villages’. Thereby, seeking to permanently erase evidence of Palestine’s pre-existence, and ultimately, ‘prevent[ing] refugees from ever returning to their homes’ (Persavalli, 2021).

The majority of the trees that Israel boasts of having planted have been replaced with non-native species that require more water to survive, leading to desertification, widespread forest fires and drought. Moreover, since 1967, Israel has uprooted more than 1 million native olive and fruit trees in Occupied Palestine leading to soil erosion and increased food insecurity. This is supported by the deforestation statistics whereby ‘95% of the forests of Gaza have disappeared between 1971 and 1999, due to the extensive spread of settlements and military bases’ (Persavalli, 2021).

This blatant land theft where Israel has stolen Palestinian lands to construct illegal Israeli settlements, has led to biodiversity loss, the destruction of natural ecosystems, desertification, and water pollution.

Eco-Apartheid

Israel is projecting Palestinians to eco-apartheid – further defined as ‘inter-institutional arrangements and interactions that produce unequal environmental benefits and burdens’. ( Akom, 2011). The Israeli West Bank Segregation Wall denies Palestinians their land and thus prevents Palestinians from cultivating them, which has led to increased food insecurity, desertification, and habitat destruction of animals and migratory birds.

The construction of the West Bank Wall carries a number of environmental impacts. Including, isolating Palestinian farmers from their local lands and thereby harming local ecosystems and removing their access to a livelihood.

Israel practises theft of Palestinian water, stealing over 80% of available water in the Occupied West Bank, and redirecting it to illegal Israeli settlements for filling swimming pools and crop irrigation (IMEU, 2022). Inevitably, this denies Palestinians access to water security and subsequently denies their rights to ‘water, food, health, work and an adequate standard of living’ (Amnesty International, 2017).

Israeli industrial settlements regularly release air filled with toxic pollutants and dump wastewater containing untreated sewage into Palestinian villages, polluting the water and soil. The pollution and pesticides from these settlements cause significant health problems to those living in the Palestinian communities nearby. Cancer, asthma and genetic health disorders are just some of the conditions being suffered. With these health conditions, Palesintians’ ability to earn a living is greatly affected (IMEU, 2022).

Despite its ongoing eco-apartheid, Israel hides behind green colonialism by using environmentalism as a justification for its occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands. Not only are Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank established on stolen lands, but Israel also seeks to justify its land theft under the pretext of protecting nature reserves. In reality, two-thirds of all the trees planted, and the parks established by Israel are built on the demolition of 89 Palestinian villages. Through the controlling of Palestinian lands and its people, Israel practises settler colonialism through methods of green colonialism. By presenting itself as an ‘eco-friendly’ country, Israel aims to detract international attention from its extensive human rights violations against Palestinians. Israel’s green colonialism has irreversibly caused grave environmental damage on Palestinian lands, aggravating the effects of climate change and committing a war crime (IMEU, 2022).

The depoliticizing of climate apartheid in Occupied Palestine involves international donor-driven strategies that emphasize fostering peace and cooperation, rather than pressuring Israel to put an end to its occupation. For instance, initiatives funded by donors, such as EcoPeace and the Arava Institute, have consistently utilized slogans such as “the environment knows no borders” and “bringing people together” to advance collaboration between Israel and Palestine centred around climate and environmental justice. However, these initiatives only serve to normalize and legitimize the Israeli occupation by presenting it as sustainable development, and environmental action.

Climate Justice for Palestine

The struggle for climate justice in Palestine is tied to the Palestinian freedom struggle. A few practical steps for climate justice for Palestine entail opposing Israel’s export of natural gas and electricity to Europe, as well as boycotting international projects including Mekorot, which promotes water apartheid by denying Palestinians access to water and supporting Israel’s illegal settlements. It also involves boycotting all Israeli Medjool dates, which are cultivated in the Jordan Valley using land and water taken from Palestinians. Moving towards a path of climate justice cannot be achieved without addressing the underlying injustices of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

References

Al- Haq (2021). Climate oppression: a major tool to establish and maintain Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and their lands. Report to OHCHR.
Earth.Org (2021) What is green colonialism?, Earth.Org. Available at: https://earth.org/green-colonialism/ (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
Imeu (2022) IMEU Institute for middle east understanding, IMEU. Available at: https://imeu.org/article/environmental-apartheid-in-palestine (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
Lorber, B. (2018) Israel’s environmental colonialism and Ecoapartheid – The bullet, Socialist Project. Available at: https://socialistproject.ca/2018/06/israels-environmental-colonialism-and-ecoapartheid/ (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
Persavalli, L. (2021) Biodiversity Loss in Palestine. the green colonialism., zeroCO2. Available at: https://zeroco2.eco/en/2021/05/18/biodiversity-loss-in-palestine/ (Accessed: 03 September 2023).
Stull, V., Bell, M.M. and Ncwadi, M. (2016) ‘Environmental apartheid: Eco-health and rural marginalization in South Africa’, Journal of Rural Studies, 47, pp. 369-380 Available at: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.04.004.
The Occupation of Water (2022) Amnesty International. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/11/the-occupation-of-water/ (Accessed: 03 September 2023).

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