As well as the killing, expulsion and the devasting suffering of the Palestinian people, Palestine land is being rendered uninhabitable, barren. Water has been polluted through the destruction and collapse of water and sewage treatment systems. Biodiversity is destroyed. Two great crimes are being committed: genocide and ecocide. Ecocide, the destruction of ecosystems, may not appear so catastrophic when we witness the mass killing and the demolition of homes and essential infrastructure.
However, George Monbiot, writing in the Guardian October 2025, stated that prior to October 2023 40% of Palestine land was farmed. Two years later only 1.5% of Palestine agricultural land is both accessible and undamaged. In order to be farmed even the small amount of arable land has to be accessible. There is destruction of farmland by the Israeli military. War is being waged on farmland. Bulldozers have destroyed cropland and orchards, and compacted the soil. Herbicides have been sprayed from planes. The felling of ancient Palestinian olive trees is detrimental to the Palestinian economy, the self-sufficiency of the people and to their indigenous connection with the land.
The ongoing destruction of Gaza’s environment during Israel’s military campaign is a blatant example of ecocide and shows the relevance of ecocide law. Millions of tonnes of debris, some hazardous, some containing human remains is strewn around Gaza. Similar scenarios are repeated in many other war-torn zones. There needs to be accountability in relation to environmental harm caused during conflict. It is important to have international legal recognition of the crime of ecocide and the long-term consequences. How can the land be rehabilitated to feed the people even after a ceasefire?
Faith for Ecocide Law is an interreligious coalition gathering religious and spiritual leaders and voices to express support for an international crime of Ecocide
Two main focus points of the Faith for Ecocide website:
- Raising awareness of what is Ecocide
- Promoting the incorporation of Ecocide law into EU law as well as including it in the International Criminal Court crimes against humanity as a 5th crime.
Publications available to read on the website that give excellent insights into the cause and effects of Ecocide; Faith Voices for Ecocide Law (published 2022) and Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (United Nations publication 2020). https://www.faithforecocidelaw.earth/