BDS claims win as energy giants quit Israeli gas project off Gaza

Did the grassroots boycott campaign force international energy giants to walk away from Israel? Well, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as BDS, says it's just scored a major victory. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! Palestine will be free! Scottish-based energy company Dana Petroleum has withdrawn from an Israeli-led gas exploration project off Gaza's coast. And it's not the first. Italian energy giant Eni pulled out in March. Dana is owned by KNOC, a state-run energy firm from South Korea. There were protests in Scotland and in South Korea, where 360 civil society organizations backed the divestment campaign, and 10,000 people signed a petition. We met with representatives from the Korea National Oil Corporation, and we could see over time their attitudes changing about this project. So it's a legal risk, it's a financial risk. And it's also a reputational risk, both for KNOC and for the Korean government at large, because they're engaging with Israel at a time when international society has made it clear that we are against the genocide. Here's why this matters. Back in 2000, natural gas was discovered off Gaza's coast. The Gaza marine field is estimated to hold around 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. For Palestinians, it could be transformative, providing electricity, generating revenue. and reducing their dependence on imported energy. Yet more than 25 years later, not a single cubic foot has entered commercial production. But in October 2023, with Israel's genocidal war on Gaza underway, Israel announced the winners of a new round of offshore exploration licenses. According to the Palestinian rights group Adala, 62% of one exploration area known as Zone G falls within maritime boundaries claimed by Palestine. The consortium originally included Israel's Ratio Energies, along with Eni and Dana Petroleum, as international partners. For BDS, their departure sends a clear message to every company participating in Israel's occupation. It's not just about one company dropping out, but it's about setting a precedent and showing energy companies around the world that if you engage in business deals with Israel, if you collude with Israel to pillage Palestinian resources, there will be consequences. But the project isn't running out of foreign backers just yet. U.S. company Murphy Oil has stepped in, taking a 50% stake alongside Ratio Energies. And Dana could still return with Israeli approval. So while BDS is celebrating a victory, Israel has awarded exploration licenses to a new consortium. Eni dropped out, Dana dropped out, and they went and found another company. So that's definitely their strategy here. We will continue our campaigns, and we will not give up until Palestine is fully liberated.