Palestinians Take Legal Action to Stop BP From Fueling ‘Israel’s War Machine’

Palestinians whose family members were killed in Gaza attacks by Israel during the last 14 months have taken legal action against British oil major BP. They argue that the company’s ownership of the pipeline supplying Israel with oil has been aiding the assault.

The claimants sent BP a “letter before claim” that alleges its actions breach stated human rights commitments under international law, reported The Guardian.

“Israel relies heavily on crude oil and refined petroleum imports to run its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks and other military vehicles and operations, as well as the bulldozers implicated in clearing Palestinian homes and olive groves to make way for unlawful Israeli settlements. Some fuel from refineries goes directly to the armed forces, while much of the rest appears to go to ordinary gas stations where military personnel can refuel their vehicles under a government contract,” the letter states.

BP is the owner and operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which Azerbaijan uses to supply Israel with crude oil. The pipeline runs through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. From there, the oil is transported via ship to provide 28 percent of the crude oil used by Israel.

Oil from the pipeline has been reported as being sent to a jet fuel refinery for military aircraft that drop munitions on Gaza.

The Palestinian claimants sent their letter a little more than a month following a report published by a coalition of environmentalists that identified the oil company as one of the “top corporate suppliers of oil to Israel,” Common Dreams reported.

“The major international oil companies, including BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies, may be linked to 35% of the crude oil supplied to Israel since October [2023],” the report says. “These companies, as well as state-owned entities and other private and publicly traded oil producers, profit from supplying oil to Israel’s refineries, where a proportion is likely refined into fuels for Israel’s war machine.”

The claimants say BP violated the guiding principles of the United Nations regarding business and human rights, in addition to the prohibition against being complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity under international law and its own policy obligations, which require the oil company not to contribute to human rights abuses, reported The Guardian.

A UN commission found Israel to have committed war crimes during the Gaza conflict, and the UN general assembly has approved immediate ceasefire resolutions in a conflict that has killed at least 45,000 people.

“This legal action marks a new phase in accountability for those that are complicit in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The evidence against BP demonstrates a clear failure to adhere to its own human rights policies and international law,” said Tayab Ali, director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians and international law head at Bindmans law firm, as The Guardian reported. Both organizations have been working with the claimants in the case.

“By facilitating the transport of oil that fuels military operations in Gaza, BP has contributed to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the region. Our clients seek justice for the profound suffering and loss they have endured and call on BP to act responsibly by immediately halting its involvement,” Ali said.

The Palestinian claimants have suffered enormous losses because of the conflict. One of the lead claimants is a British citizen who has lost 16 family members from Israeli airstrikes, with surviving family members facing dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

The claimants are demanding an “immediate cessation of oil supply to Israel and facilitation through” the BP pipeline and an “admission liability and a commitment to mediation for assessing damages,” reported Common Dreams.

Other claimants have faced terrible physical and psychological harm, including displacement, amputations and loss of family members, with some dying because of lack of essential supplies and access to medical care, The Guardian reported.

The letter demands that BP immediately stop its facilitation and supply of oil to Israel through its pipeline, and that the company provide all relevant documents, including contracts, policies and risk assessments related to its operations in connection with oil supplies to Israel.

In addition to an admission of liability, the claimants seek BP’s commitment to mediation for the assessment of damages, as well as a public apology for all the harm it has caused.

The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations last week argued that “foreign governments have an obligation” under international law “to end the supply of fuel to Israel unless they can guarantee it will only be used for nonmilitary purposes,” reported Common Dreams.

“This includes both a ban on the export of crude oil, military jet fuel, and other fuels, as well as a prohibition on the transport of these commodities through their territory,” the Amsterdam-based nonprofit organization said.