1,000 signatures reached
To: Greenpeace Global Leadership
Greenpeace Petition 2.0 - No Climate Justice Without Recognizing the Occupation
Demands
The following demands are addressed to global leadership to ensure adherence to our values and principles as Greenpeace:
- Greenpeace must acknowledge the power dynamic between occupier and occupied; these are not two equal sides. We, as Greenpeace staff, urge the Greenpeace Network to advocate for the end of the Occupation of Palestine, in line with UN resolutions and international law that have declared the occupation illegal, as a precondition for ensuring a sustained and long-lasting solution.
- Greenpeace must commit to internally examining the power dynamics in leadership and those with decision making authority related to this issue, including questions of transparency, inclusivity, process, and if/how JEDIS principles are being upheld to acknowledge the institutionalized inequalities faced by Palestinians and promote justice.
- Continue to call for a complete arms and political embargo against Israel from all stakeholders globally, especially countries giving the most weapons and funding (including the US, Germany, Italy, and the UK).
The undersigned staff present across the National and Regional Organizations (NROs), we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and join all those calling for justice, peace, and an end to the occupation and oppression.
Why is this important?
Recap on the situation in Gaza
For those of us with our eyes open and bearing witness to the atrocities, the past 7 months have proven that nowhere is safe in Gaza. Rafah has been under attack despite repeated warnings to Israel from UN agencies including the ICJ, governments, and human rights organizations worldwide, meanwhile the ICC is seeking arrest warrants for politicians leading these attacks.
As of the end of May 2024, over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, and over 86,000 injured, primarily women and children, with thousands more unaccounted for under the rubble. In Rafah, civilians are being killed sleeping in tents in "safe zones." Almost 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population was already forced to flee their homes. Since May 6, more than one million Gazans had to leave Rafah, some displaced more than 6 times in less than 6 months.
The blockage of food, water, and fuel continues (despite ICJ orders, UN resolutions), resulting in starvation, malnutrition, disease, loss of critical facilities, and death. Severe aid blockages have hindered humanitarian efforts for months, exacerbated by the Rafah border total closure. Aid has been subject to unlawful restrictions by Israel and sabotage by zionist settlers.
Rafah will not be the end of this violence, and Israel will not stop unless it is stopped by an arms and political embargo. We have heard 7 months of explicitly genocidal language and incitement from high-ranking Israeli officials. In the West Bank, Palestinians face increased intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention, land grabs, theft, forced evictions, burning & destruction of property, and murder, which has been sanctioned and supported by the Israeli military.
We will not be silent in the face of an unfolding genocide. We also refuse to ignore the fact that this genocide is merely an escalation of ethnic cleansing that began 76 years ago and continues, up to now with complete international impunity. We refuse to turn our backs on the Palestinians who are being massacred and starved to death, and yet wake up every day and try again to ask the world again why their lives aren’t valued as much as those with whiter skin. We refuse to turn our backs on the human rights activists, the climate movement, and the students who are risking their futures to speak truth to power in the face of censorship, funding cuts, violent police brutality, chemical attacks, and hate crimes.
Recap on the situation in GP
While GPI’s Peace Statement champions universal rights and equality, the reality starkly contradicts these ideals. Palestinians face systemic inequality, oppression, and dispossession, yet Greenpeace is afraid to say it, highlighting a significant double standard. This failure to uphold these principles for Palestinians exposes a lack of genuine commitment to these values.
True peace requires active efforts to build bridges and foster cooperation. However, in Palestine, ongoing occupation, displacement, systemic discrimination and human rights violations obstruct these efforts. Greenpeace's failure to call out these injustices indicates a selective application of peace-building principles. This selective enforcement erodes trust and fosters cynicism about the sincerity of these commitments as well as about Greenpeace’s identity at its core.
To genuinely reject division and hate, we must address all sources of such behavior, including the policies and actions that perpetuate the division and suffering of Palestinians. Ignoring these issues while advocating for justice and unity elsewhere demonstrates a clear double standard and undermines our credibility. This inconsistency risks alienating those who see these contradictions and damages efforts to promote genuine unity and peace.
