In this bulletin: (1) Palestinian gas belongs to Palestinians (2) How to Challenge the Israeli Occupation and Corporate Complicity in the Energy Sector - Register for Nov 4 webinar, and (3) Dockworkers Unions to intervene at 100+ international ports to disrupt energy supplies to Israel
Scotland-based Dana Petroleum and their owners, the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC), are playing a key role in a consortium contracted by the Israeli government since October 2023 to pillage Palestinian gas off the coast of Gaza; 62% of the area to be explored lies in Palestinian waters.
The illegal extraction of natural resources, such as gas, from occupied territory amounts to the war crime of pillage. Earlier this year, Italian energy giant, Eni, pulled out of the same consortium after a major campaign by ReCommon, BDS Italia and other BDS partners and groups.
Since then, the consortium has been flailing, its validity under scrutiny and without, as yet, new corporate partners to replace Eni.
Dana Petroleum’s continued participation in this consortium is a violation of international law and a huge financial and reputational risk to both the company and its parent, KNOC.
Civil society campaigning across Europe and Asia has brought this consortium to the brink of collapse. We need a final push now to force Dana Petroleum to end its complicity in Israel’s international law violations.
Seventeen Palestinian trade unions and federations have issued a call to action for this coming November to all global unions. Seeking inspiration on actions your union can lead? Read the resource document here.
“We call on trade unions to ramp up pressure to bring this Dana Petroleum’s complicity to an end. Only Palestinians have the right to decide what is done with their resources. As we watch Israel slaughter and maim Palestinians day after day, we cannot stand by as international companies look to profit from the theft of Palestinian resources, to fuel Israel’s continued occupation, apartheid and genocide. Join the call to action from 17 Palestinian trade unions and federations to stand in effective solidarity from November 20th - November 29th.” Sara Elettra - BDS National Committee - Maritime Transfer and Energy Embargo Campaigns Coordinator.
This call comes as dockerworkers unions around the world prepare to take action via strike, protest and solidarity action on 30 October (more information in the next bulletin section). Because the resources plundered from Palestinian waters are transported by sea, maritime workers hold a unique power to stop it. Palestinian-led BDS National Committee calls on all trade unions to join this global port action and disrupt and block the transfer of military, energy and dual-use supplies to genocidal Israel.
Sara Elettra
Maritime Transfer and Energy Embargo Campaigns Coordinator
BDS National Committee
Email: Sara@bdsmovement.net
Jack Ferguson
International Trade Union Organiser
BDS National Committee
Email: Jack.f@bdsmovement.net
The Palestinian labor movement endorses the call for a day of struggle on October 30th against militarisation and genocide organised by a collective of dockworkers’ unions and calls on all global port, transport and related unions to join it. Read more here.
“Our ports and transport infrastructure must not be turned into instruments of military aggression, occupation or genocide. Workers should not be compelled to load or move weapons and military cargo used to kill civilians and devastate communities. We demand an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people, an end to occupation and apartheid, and an end to wars and blockades that punish working people,” reads a recent statement from the South African Trade Union Confederation (SAFTU).
Find your local action using the “No Harbour for Genocide” tool: 30october.noharbourforgenocide.com.
Join us online on Tuesday, 4 November at 8:30 - 10pm Palestine time (find your local time here) for a webinar exploring corporate complicity in the energy sector, its role in powering Israel’s ongoing apartheid, occupation and genocide against Indigenous Palestinians, and how we organise against it.Register here: https://loom.ly/tAsCv4o
Speakers from Law for Palestine (L4P), Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Global Energy Embargo for Palestine (GEEP) will take us through the energy-crime nexus, a case study on Vitol's role in supplying energy to Israel, a legal briefing on energy companies' exposure, and practical organising that links anti-occupation campaigning to climate and labour struggles.
With Anisha Patel (L4P), Lala Peñaranda (TUED), Sara Elettra (BNC), Lydia de Leeuw (SOMO), and Ana Sanchez (GEEP).
The webinar includes time for questions from participants. Simultaneous interpretation available in English and Spanish.
Register now: https://loom.ly/tAsCv4o
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