Who’s fuelling Gaza’s genocide – the list keeps getting longer

Alameen Templeton

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Gabon, Nigeria, Brazil, the Republic of Congo and Italy have all shipped crude oil to Israel this year where’s it’s a vital fuel supply for the tanks and bulldozers that are destroying Gaza.

The UN and international law experts are calling on states to impose an “energy embargo” on Israel and for an investigation into fuel used for genocide and to violate humanitarian law.

Crucially, all the states shipped the lifeline to Israel’s genocide after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to “prevent genocidal acts” on January 6. That order also came with a warning that all states that have signed up to the Geneva Convention have an obligation to investigate and prevent genocide from occurring.

Also, since the start of Israel’s merciless bombardment last October, four tankers of American jet fuel, primarily used for military aircraft, were shipped to Israel, research by The Guardian newspaper reveal.

It said its researchers tracked 65 oil and fuel shipments to “Israel” from October 21 last year to July 12 using shipping logs, satellite images, and other open-source data.

They found Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Gabon, Nigeria, Brazil, the Republic of the Congo and Italy supplied “Israel” with 4.1 million tons of crude oil, nearly half of which was shipped after the ICJ ruling.

Britain’s top weapons inspector resigned last week, warning his bosses as he left that Israel was violating humanitarian law “openly and in plain sight”. He said continuing UK arms shipments to Israel violated both international humanitarian law and British laws that prevent arms sales to countries abusing human rights or committing gross violations.

“After the 26 January ICJ ruling, states cannot claim they did not know what they were risking to partake in,” says Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine.

She says, under international law, states have obligations to investigate possible genocides and to prevent it. They’re also obliged to respect and ensure respect for the Geneva conventions.

Last month, the US allocated $3.5 billion to “Israel” for US-made weapons and military equipment, despite reports from UN experts and other investigations revealing violations of international law by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank.

But the following day, the US approved another $20 billion in weapons sales, including 50 fighter jets, tank ammunition, and tactical vehicles.

The sale and transfer of jet fuel – and arms – “increase the ability of Israel, the occupying power, to commit serious violations”, according to the UN human rights council resolution in March. According to the White House, the US is the largest supplier of fuel and weapons to “Israel”, with its policy remaining unchanged following the ICJ ruling, Al Mayadeen reports.