“What we have been calling for, as part of the Palestinian movement for more than 20 years, is to hold Israel — and all those who support it — accountable for the crimes being committed.”

Belém, BRAZIL – Expel Israel.  

This is the call of activists to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in a protest action in front of the COP 30 blue zone on Nov. 11, Tuesday.

The groups criticized the UN’s inaction despite the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip is unlawful under international law. The ICJ also called for the immediate and total withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory.  

Hajar Al-betaji of Alliance of Non-Governmental Radical Youth (ANGRY) criticized the UN for not acting on the ICJ ruling. She also slammed the UNFCCC for preventing the mention of any countries in action inside its halls. 

They cited the environmental destruction of Israel’s genocide of Gaza. A report by the Guardian said that the long-time climate cost of destroying, clearing and rebuilding Gaza could top 31m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The report said that this is more than the combined 2023 annual greenhouse gases emitted by Costa Rica and Estonia.      

“We gather here today because this madness has to end. The genocide that’s fuelled by fossil fuel that funds 393 billion from European banks to illegal settlements to occupied Palestine, all this military is empowered by fossil fuel industry,” Al-betaji said.

In a press conference, Jamal Juma, coordinator of the Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall) said that the call for the banning of Israel from COP 30 and the UNFCCC process is part of broader efforts to suspend its membership in the United Nations, citing Israel’s systematic human rights violations and for committing genocide from the 1970s up to present. “It has to stop,” he said. 

“What we have been calling for, as part of the Palestinian movement for more than 20 years, is to hold Israel — and all those who support it — accountable for the crimes being committed. If the world had stood by its commitments to justice and international law, we would not be witnessing the genocidal war currently taking place in Palestine. We are also addressing the catastrophic environmental destruction resulting from this aggression,” Juma said. 

Juma also lamented the environmental destruction caused by the massive bombing of Israel in Gaza, stressing that it has  contaminated its soil and water, making it unlivable for its people. 

Rula Shadid of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy said that Israel uses greenwashing tactics like developing renewable energy projects in illegal settlements to present an environmentally friendly image and normalize its occupation and colonization. “This is seen as a way to integrate its dominance into regional energy and economic spheres,” she said. 

“The Palestinian struggle for liberation and self-determination is for life and land rights and for sovereignty, which is a central component of global climate justice movements. Without centering the rights of the oppressed, climate justice efforts are definitely incomplete,” Shadid said. “Therefore, from an intersectional perspective, a just and sustainable world free from climate catastrophes is impossible without addressing and dismantling the systems of oppression that denies Palestinians and other oppressed communities from their fundamental rights and their self-determination. There will be no climate justice without the liberation of Palestine.” (DAA)