British Writer: The Environmental Genocide of Gaza Means Making It Uninhabitable

SadaNews - In an article titled "The Environmental Genocide Committed by Israel in Gaza," Guardian columnist George Monbiot discusses the widespread destruction inflicted on the land, environment, and people in the enclave.

He clarifies that Israel's policy aims not only to physically eliminate Palestinians but also to eradicate any capacity they have to live or depend on their natural resources.

Monbiot points out that the Israeli government is working towards two parallel goals to enforce its control: the first is mass killing and the expulsion of Palestinians, and the second is transforming the land into areas unfit for habitation and agriculture.

The Greatest Damage

Israeli attacks have caused extensive destruction to infrastructure and buildings, but the writer highlights that the greater damage is less visible: the destruction of ecosystems and the livelihoods that residents depend on.

He states that about 40% of the land in Gaza was cultivated before the Al-Aqsa Flood attack, and the region was capable of meeting its needs for vegetables, poultry, olives, fruits, and milk.

However, a recent United Nations report indicates that what remains of arable land that is available and undamaged does not exceed 1.5%, equating to around 200 hectares, an area sufficient to feed only a very small number of residents.

Intentional and Systematic

The article affirms that part of the environmental destruction is intentional and systematic at the hands of the Israeli army, which destroys greenhouses, removes orchards, plows crops, and sprays pesticides on fields.

Israel justifies these attacks by saying that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) might use these lands for military purposes, a justification that allows it to destroy any place regardless of the absence of clear evidence, according to Monbiot.

Israeli forces are also working to expand the "buffer zone" along Gaza's eastern border, which contains a significant portion of agricultural land, turning fertile areas into desert, contrary to its promotional slogan "Make the Desert Bloom."

Monbiot states: The policy of removing ancient olive trees aims to deprive Palestinians of their livelihoods and sever their symbolic and cultural ties to the land, in addition to the food blockade, ensuring famine occurs.

Severing Ties to the Land

Monbiot points out that the policy of uprooting ancient olive trees aims to deprive Palestinians of their livelihoods and sever their symbolic and cultural ties to the land, alongside the food blockade, which guarantees famine.

The occupation's aggression also caused the collapse of sewage treatment, allowing polluted water to seep into groundwater and coastal waters, in addition to worsening solid waste disposal issues, exacerbating pollution.

The author adds that the carbon emissions resulting from the Israeli attack are huge, including emissions from direct warfare and the potential reconstruction costs for the enclave, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases of a medium-sized country.

Comprehensive Genocide

Monbiot also emphasizes that environmental destruction in Gaza reinforces the comprehensive nature of the genocide and must be viewed alongside the mass extermination of people.

He pointed out that destroying ecosystems, even without specific international laws addressing it, violates Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and constitutes a serious crime against humanity.

Monbiot concludes his article by warning that future plans to create what some politicians call "Gaza Riviera" will turn the land into an environment devoid of people and natural activity, without any accountability for the perpetrators of these crimes until they are finally held accountable.

Source: Guardian