New Research Exposes Countries and Companies Supplying the Oil Fueling Palestinian Genocide
New data compiled by DataDesk, commissioned by Oil Change International, sheds light on the devastating role of oil fueling the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. By tracing the supply chains of crude oil and refined products to Israel, the research exposes the various countries and companies whose fuel supplies are perpetuating this humanitarian crisis – and thus have an opportunity to help compel a ceasefire by turning off those taps.
Contact:
fuel-research@priceofoil.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Washington, DC] – New data compiled by DataDesk, commissioned by Oil Change International, sheds light on the devastating role of oil fueling the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. By tracing the supply chains of crude oil and refined products to Israel, the research exposes the various countries and companies whose fuel supplies are perpetuating this humanitarian crisis – and thus have an opportunity to help compel a ceasefire by turning off those taps.
According to the findings, the US is the Israeli military’s key direct source of imported jet fuel. Oil majors, including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni, and TotalEnergies, are also complicit in fueling atrocities in their ownership stakes in and operations of projects supplying oil to Israel, particularly via Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Brazil and Saudi Arabia are also implicated in supplying Israel with fuel for its war machine. Countries and companies continuing to provide fuel to Israel are playing a part in enabling the ongoing violence and oppression against the Palestinian people.
Key findings:
Palestinian groups and their allies have called for an energy embargo and are demanding governments and companies cease all fuel shipments to Israel until it ends the genocide and its regime of apartheid against the Palestinian people. Specifically, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement calls for a consumer boycott of Chevron-branded gas stations. Countries, as well as oil and gas companies, must be held to account for their role in perpetuating violence and human rights abuses.
Statements:
Allie Rosenbluth, Oil Change International US Program Manager, said:
“Countries and major oil companies fueling Israel’s war machine are complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. With growing public outrage, including massive protests across the globe, the demand for an end to this genocide is resounding. By directly fueling Israel’s military, on top of over a hundred other weapons sales, the U.S. in particular must be held accountable for potential violations of international law. We call on nations to leverage their oil supply as a means to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the occupation. Fossil fuel companies, like BP, Chevron, and Exxon, driven solely by profit, are willing to fuel conflict against innocent civilians. This must stop today. We demand a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israeli occupation in Palestine.”
Mahmoud Nawajaa, General Coordinator, Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), said:
“The ICJ’s ruling of 26 January indicates that Israel could plausibly be committing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in occupied Gaza. States and companies must immediately end any complicity in Israel’s genocidal acts, including its use of starvation as a weapon of war. UN human rights experts have reminded States of this obligation, calling for an “immediate” military embargo on Israel, entailing a halt to the transfer of weapons and other military supplies to it.
“States and companies that continue to provide Israel with fuel for its military forces are directly complicit in supporting its ongoing genocide. We shall never forgive them for that. The BDS movement, which is already targeting Chevron with a growing global boycott and divestment campaign, will expose and target the complic States and corporations mentioned in this valuable report.
“This complicity in Israel’s Gaza genocide is not just killing Palestinians and destroying our cities, refugee camps and villages; it is also accelerating the world’s descent into what the UN Secretary-General calls, “total impunity,” where the law of the jungle reigns.”
Mohammed Usrof, co-founder of Climate Alliance for Palestine, said:
“After the International Court of Justice ruling, it’s disheartening to see the silent complicity of international corporations in the prolonged suffering of my people and my family. These companies, by supplying oil and gas to Israel, not only fuel a machinery of conflict but also ignore the urgent calls for ethical responsibility and humanity. It’s high time we demand more than just corporate profit – accountability and justice should be non-negotiable.”
Peter Frankental, Amnesty International UK’s Economic Affairs Director, said:
“There are urgent due diligence questions for any company with commercial ties to the Israeli military, and oil firms must ensure they’re not in the business of helping to entrench Israel’s apartheid system or fuelling war crimes and possible genocide in Gaza.
“The need to avoid being directly linked to Israeli war crimes via any of their business relationships extends to all companies which form part of the global oil distribution infrastructure. We’ve repeatedly called on the Government to ensure that no UK company can trade with Israel’s network of illegal settlements, and likewise the Department for Business & Trade must be prepared to take action to prevent unscrupulous UK firms – including in the lucrative oil sector – from profiting from Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.”
Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch said:
“Israeli authorities have carried out mass atrocities in Gaza in recent months. Countries and other actors that provide support to Israel’s armed forces risk complicity in war crimes. States should suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel so long as its forces commit widespread, systematic abuses against Palestinian civilians with impunity.”
Notes to the editor:
For more information and to access the full data analysis, please visit here.
Data Sets used: The main sources used are: Automatic Identification System (AIS) data on ship positions and aggregated commodity trade flows data from LSEG’s CARGO app; customs filings and bills of lading from Sinoimex Global Trade Monitor; and satellite imagery from Planet Labs and the ESA Sentinel-2 satellite. While detailed examples and evidence are provided only for the most significant flows in volume terms, we would be very happy to discuss any of the other flows mentioned in more detail.
ENDS