Israel’s occupation is eclipsing Palestine’s solar potential
On March 11th, the environmental activism community will celebrate “Solar Appreciation Day” to encourage the adoption of solar energy solutions in our daily life as a more sustainable way of living.
Palestine, with its abundance of sunshine (a daily average of 8 hours), has a high potential for utilising solar energy. However, the Israeli occupation systematically hinders this potential, leaving Palestinians in energy poverty and undermining the opportunity for Palestine’s energy independence.
At the same time, the Israeli regime attempts to promote itself as at the forefront of fighting climate change and environmental initiatives in the region, a political strategy known as “greenwashing” used to distract from its violations against the Palestinian people.
In reality, “Solar Appreciation Day” and similar environmental and sustainable initiatives often fail to take into account the reality for colonised and oppressed peoples who face acute energy poverty and dependency.
Since inception, the Israeli regime has deliberately forced Palestinians in the occupied territories to be energy dependent. This was further entrenched by the 1994 Paris Economic Protocol, which spelled out the economic relations between the Israeli regime and the Palestinians following the Oslo Accords.
It made sure that most of the Palestinian energy imports came from the Israeli regime. The protocols ensured not only Palestinian dependence but also total Israeli control over the levers of the Palestinian economy.
In addition to this control, the Israeli regime has been systematically attacking energy sources across the Palestinian territories, including the destruction of Gaza’s one and only diesel-based power plant and the confiscation of solar panels and systems in Area C of the West Bank.
For Palestinians in Area C, who are deprived of connection to electricity grids and networks, solar energy is the obvious short term solution to access heated water, proper lighting, and pursuing an education.
Yet the Israeli regime systemically prevents Palestinians in Area C from harnessing the immense solar energy potential either by denying construction permits or destroying existing systems.
