Some of the world’s most successful fossil fuel companies, along with American taxpayers, are fueling the Israeli planes and tanks that are killing Palestinians in Gaza, a study shows.
“Israel” relies on imports of crude oil and refined products to fuel its enormous fleet of fighter jets, tanks and other military vehicles.
The study commissioned by the non-profit Oil Change International and observed by The Guardian says the occupation has relied heavily on fossil fuels from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil, Gabon and the United States since the start of the war.
According to Data Desk, a UK-based IT consultancy organization that studies the fossil fuel market, the main oil companies that enable fuel deliveries are BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies.
Since October, the occupation has received three American tankers carrying JP8 fuel. Although one shipment left before October 7, another left after more than 16,000 Palestinians were killed on December 6, while the third left in February, two weeks after the International Court of Justice’s provisional conclusion. justice that “Israel” may be committing genocide.
David Boyd, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said countries and companies supplying the occupation “contribute to horrific human rights abuses and may be complicit of a genocide.”
Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. program manager for Oil Change International, called for the United States to be held particularly responsible for fueling the ongoing genocide “in addition to over a hundred other arms sales.”
Aside from American jet fuel, almost all other exports of refined petroleum products to “Israel” have ceased since October 2023, perhaps reflecting the broader Red Sea crisis.
In total, more than 1,440 kilotons (kt) of crude oil from Azerbaijan have reportedly been shipped to “Israel” since October 2023, while two shipments of Brazilian oil totaling 260 kt have been delivered since Israel’s invasion of Gaza. the Israeli army.
Although Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has harshly criticized the occupation and called the bombing of Gaza a genocide, he has not yet banned oil exports.
Data also suggests that four shipments carrying more than 120 kilos of VGO left Russia bound for “Israel” following the ICJ ruling.
Mahmoud Nawajaa, general coordinator of the Palestinian BDS (boycott, divestment, sanction) national committee, said BDS will “expose and target” the complicit states mentioned in the report, adding that they are “directly complicit in supporting the genocide in course. We will never forgive them for this.”
“Tax resistance”: British campaign to stop paying for complicity in the Gaza war
A new campaign has been launched in the UK to encourage people and businesses to stop paying taxes over the government’s support for the genocide carried out by “Israel” in Gaza, which killed more than 31,000 Palestinians.
The “No Tax for Genocide” campaign was launched in the UK on Thursday to persuade citizens and businesses to stop paying taxes, accusing London of aiding “Israel” in its horrific aggression against Palestine.
Campaign organizers argue that under international and domestic law, British citizens risk being implicated in the genocide in Gaza by paying taxes, and therefore have a legal right not to pay until the British government will support the Israeli occupation.
Ashish Prashar, co-founder and spokesperson for the campaign, told The Telegraph that there are several legal obligations, including the 1945 United Nations charter, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Terrorism Act of 2000 , which provide a legal basis for “tax resistance”.
“Taxpayers commit a crime when they pay tax. This is an opportunity for people not to be complicit and to demand an immediate ceasefire,” he said.
“They are using the money you have to veto ceasefires, to continue these atrocities, to provide political cover. You elected these individuals, you finance their ability to do their job, you are guilty. As British citizens, do you want to be guilty? “, he said in a press release.
This article is originally published on chroniquepalestine.com
