Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 11,000 Palestinian civilians, including 4,000 children. As many activists demand an immediate ceasefire and end to the blockade of Gaza, a troubling silence has enveloped climate justice advocates when it comes to Palestine.
In recent years, amid a deteriorating climate emergency, activists have organized mass protests demanding urgent action. A deeper understanding of the climate crisis has developed, with experts defining it as a social justice issue and pointing out the crisis’ roots in colonialism. Its champions fight to redress climate injustices by uplifting those who bear the brunt of the crisis. For many, this movement is as much about providing a safe world to present and future generations as it is about protecting non-human life.
While it is inspiring to witness a consistent commitment against oppression from advocates like Greta Thunberg and the Sunrise Movement, the broader movement has failed to embrace their urgent call for an immediate end to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
For Palestinians, climate justice is intricately tied to their liberation struggle. The ethnic cleansing and mass displacement of Palestinians began almost a century ago, marked with the Nakba (or Catastrophe) of 1948 when Zionist forces attacked major Palestinian cities and forcefully expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes to create the settler-colonial state of Israel. Ever since, Palestinians have been living under brutal Israeli occupation and apartheid.
Israel robs Palestinians of their right to build climate resilience by appropriating Palestinian land, water, and other vital natural resources.
Israel also robs Palestinians of their right to build climate resilience by appropriating Palestinian land, water, and other vital natural resources.
The densely populated Gaza Strip, a 365 square kilometer area home to 2.3 million Palestinians and almost half of its population being children, has suffered an excruciating Israeli blockade for sixteen years. Ninety-seven percent of Gaza’s water is undrinkable and less than 16 percent of materials needed to develop necessary sanitation infrastructure are allowed in. Gazans are on the front-lines of the climate crisis, as their harrowing reality is further compounded by loss of land due to rising sea levels and the saltwater contamination of an overburdened aquifer, their local source of water.
With the time ticking on urgent climate action, the United Nations’ recent Adaptation Gap Report revealed the need for ten to eighteen times the current climate finance provided to vulnerable countries to avoid serious implications of loss and damage.
The continued support of the United States for Israel’s settler-colonialism in Palestine displays its preference to warfare over the protection of human life and climate action. Despite being the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States continues to allocate more and more funds to military expenditures, which adds to global emissions while diverting resources from climate solutions.
Those at the forefront of the climate movement must confront a fundamental truth: without putting an end to occupation and dismantling colonialism everywhere, including in Palestine, the pursuit of climate justice is futile and morally dishonest.
This column was produced for Progressive Perspectives, a project of The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service.