Blood Oil: The Muslim Rulers Sold the Palestinians for Oil and Gas

The attacks on Gaza have continued for over 5 weeks now, and while there has been a brief ‘Humanitarian pause’ to allow for a hostage exchange, the Zionist entity has made it clear that they will continue to attack Gaza once the pause is over.

During this time, the Zionist entity has been allowed to commit mass genocide, killing over 14,000 people- this number includes over 6,000 children. They have also been allowed to annex the northern parts of Gaza, making it clear that they will not allow any of the Palestinians to return – shooting at civilians when they tried to return to collect their belongings during the ‘pause’.

They have been allowed to do this, and so much more, by both the Western and the Muslim world leaders. Over the past few weeks, we have seen how they have all actively supported the genocide of the Palestinians – allowing weapons to pass through their lands to get to the Zionist entity and refusing to take any meaningful action against the Zionists when they used illegal weapons to bomb the civilian population across Gaza. They actively stopped Pro-Palestinian protests and made sure that the mainstream media distorted the facts in favor of the Zionist entity. They accepted the Zionist entity’s refusal to allow the aid to be sent to Gaza, even as they continued to trade with the Zionist entity. They also refused to cut off relations with the Zionist entity or sanction them in any way.

There are multiple reasons for this – most of which stem from the fact that they have given their loyalty and allegiance to a system in which massacres are justified time and time again.

They have tried to tell us that the Jewish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is at the center of all of this; to convince us that his removal will lead to change but it won’t. The Zionist entity exists on land that they stole from Muslims in the late 1940’s and they continue to work towards the complete control over the occupied Palestinian territories.

Where does the Blood Oil come in?

I realize that Blood Oil is not a term that exists, though it should. When we look at the wars that are fought to gain access to natural resources – in this case gas and oil - and compare it to terms like Blood Diamonds, and Blood Money, the term ‘Blood Oil’ seems to be quite fitting.

Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories have immense oil and natural gas resources.

According to a UNCTAD report, “Occupied Palestinian Territory lies above sizeable reservoirs of oil and natural gas wealth, in Area C of the occupied West Bank and the Mediterranean coast off the Gaza Strip. However, occupation continues to prevent Palestinians from developing their energy fields so as to exploit and benefit from such assets.” The report estimates that these reserves could generate “hundreds of billions of dollars” for whoever develops them.

Back in 2015, the exploitation of the Gaza Marine was projected to produce revenues of $2.5-7 billion but ‘Israel’ has maintained control over Gaza’s offshore natural gas reserves. They also have control over the Meged oil and natural gas field, located inside the occupied West Bank.

Recent reports have said that there are “new resources of oil and natural gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean are valued at an astounding $524bn” but “a significant portion of those assets will have to be sourced from within the occupied territory of Palestine.”

And that on “on 29 October, as the war continued with no ceasefire in sight, Netanyahu’s government awarded 12 licenses to six companies, including BP and Italy's ENI, for natural gas exploration off the country’s Mediterranean Basin area.”

So, it’s clear that while it’s not the only reason for the attacks on Gaza, oil and gas resources have a big role to play in the recent developments in the area. And these resources haven’t just impacted the Zionist entity’s actions, but they have also been a key reason behind the decisions taken by both the Western and Muslim governments across the world.

Everyone is benefiting from the Zionist entity’s existence and its resources

We all know that the USA has always given its complete support to the Zionist entity. They have strategic reasons for this – using the Zionist entity to maintain control in the region. But what is interesting is that Chevron, a US based company has majority ownership of the Zionist entity’s gas fields.

“Chevron, along with what is now known as NewMed Energy and their minority partners, were responsible for ‘Israel’s’ giant gas discoveries – Tamar and Leviathan – in 2009 and 2010, respectively, and subsequently controlled virtually all of ‘Israel’s’ gas reserves and production.” Source

These fields have allowed the Zionist entity to become a net exporter of gas – gas that accounts for around 70% of the country’s electric power generation, with the excess being exported to Egypt and Jordan.

• The EMG pipeline runs directly offshore between the Jewish entity and Egypt. Egypt relies on gas imports from the Jewish entity during the summer months to keep the lights on and air conditioners running.

• The northern export line from the north of the Zionist entity to Jordan, connecting to the Arab Gas Pipeline in Jordan and the southern export line connected directly to Jordanian industrial facilities on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. Jordan, which imports more than 90% of its energy needs, relies on gas that is delivered via Egypt and the Zionist entity.

So, when we wonder how it’s possible for the Zionist entity to be surrounded by Muslim countries who are allowing the Palestinians to be murdered- this is why. The Zionist entity and the USA have ensured that Muslim neighbors of the Zionist entity have a mutual interest in protecting this entity– despite the fact that the Zionist country exists on land that they stole from the Muslims, with a horrific amount of Palestinian blood being split in the process. They all benefit from the current status quo – even if they suggest otherwise.

And it’s not only the Zionist entity’s immediate neighbors who are benefiting from this situation.

“In March 2021, Mubadala Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, which is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, acquired a 22 percent stake in the Tamar field for more than $1 billion – the largest such deal between the United Arab Emirates and ‘Israel’ at the time.” Source

And for those who believe that Pakistan is not involved in the trade, they may not have direct relations with the Zionist entity but they do import gas from both the USA and Egypt. This may seem like a meaningless link, but it’s very significant when you consider the fact that Egypt relies on the Zionist entity for its gas exports.

“Egypt relies on ‘Israeli’ gas imports to meet some of its domestic demand, as well as for re-exports that have been a significant earner of scarce foreign currency. “(Reuters)

And so gas is crucial to both the Zionist entity and USA interests in the region.

The USA created a ‘USA-Israel’ energy cooperation agreement which stipulates that “United ‘States-Israel’ energy cooperation and the development of natural resources by ‘Israel’ are in the strategic interest of the United States”, promising to assist Israel with “regional safety and security issues”.

There is also a need for gas in the immediate future – a need that was created by the Ukraine War. This is one of the reasons why the EU countries are showing such firm support for the Zionist entity’s genocide. Because in order to access the resources that Allah has blessed Palestine with, the Zionist entity must increase their control over the region.

But what about the oil?

The Zionist entity is currently reliant on oil from other countries. They receive most of their oil from two Muslim countries, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. They also receive oil from West African nations, like Gabon, and then they also procure oil form the USA and Brazil. Taking this into account, is it a surprise that the Zionist entity wants to access the oil beneath the land of Palestine?

“A study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) points out that recoverable oil is estimated at 1.7 billion barrels.”

The Zionist entity needs this oil - they refused to allow the Palestinians to access the fossil fuel resources, keeping the Palestinian people reliant on them while keeping control of the resources for themselves.

But this isn’t the end of it- Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories are vital to the new IMEC initiative.

This year’s G20 summit revealed plans to create the India-Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). This project aims to balance China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), redefining “global trade routes, promote connectivity, and facilitate the growth and export of clean energy and digital communications.”

Netanyahu described it as "a cooperation project that is the greatest in our history”, adding: “Our country ‘Israel’ will be a central junction in this economic corridor; our railways and our ports will open a new gateway from India through the Middle East to Europe, and back.” Source

It will begin in India, crossing the Arabic Sea and passing through the Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Zionist entity, and Europe to reach the UAE. This route includes both maritime and railway transport components, and will include cables to connect power grids and telecommunications lines. The plans for the corridor also include pipelines for hydrogen produced in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

And while there is news that the corridor may not involve Turkey, Erdogan said;

“We say there is no corridor without Türkiye...We are an important production and trade Centre. The most convenient route for traffic from East to West must go through Türkiye... and offered an alternative route through the construction of the Iraq Development Road, which aims to link Turkiye with the Iraqi port of Faw by road and railway.”

And his Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, said that;

"The project planning phase is almost complete. We are now in discussions as four countries on how to build it and how to operate it”. He added that the UAE and Qatar will provide strong backing and that additional means of financing -- including European banks, payment by oil and Turkey's own investments -- are under consideration.
And in case it wasn’t clear how all of this links to the attacks in Gaza – the preferred canal route runs right through the middle of Gaza.

So in one way or another the world allowed thousands of Palestinian children to die... for trade.

This isn’t a new development – the trade network may be but the Muslim rulers chose to sell the Palestinians to the Jewish occupiers decades ago. And every government since then has maintained this choice, in one way or another due to their mutual national interest.

Just a few of the examples are the fact that:

- the Zionist entity’s oil imports have continued to pass through Turkey despite the attacks in Gaza.

- Egypt’s top generals have worked closely with their counterparts in the Zionist entity since the Camp David accords of 1978. And Egyptian security forces work with the Zionist entity to enforce restrictions on movement in and out of the Gaza Strip, while Egyptian and intelligence of the Jewish entity cooperate actively. Egypt and the Zionist entity also cooperate to control the people who enter and leave Gaza – before and during the war.

- The Zionist entity and Jordan are implementing mutual water and solar energy agreements. The Zionist entity is building a new pipeline that will double the amount of water it sells at cost to water-starved Jordan. Jordan also allowed the USA to transport military equipment into the region as part of an American deployment to defend the Zionist entity.

We can’t do anything to stop the Zionist entity or the USA – they are too powerful

One thing that we need to be very clear on is that none of this is possible without the support of the Muslim rulers. They have allowed the Zionist entity to oppress and massacre the Palestinian people. They have allowed the USA to send support to the Zionist entity through their lands, air and seas.

“The civil aviation authorities of Jordan and ‘Israel’ have agreed to open their airspace as a “sky bridge” between East and West starting on October 9. The agreement will allow airliners and some military aircraft to fly over the two countries on their way to and from North America and Europe, on the one hand, and the Middle East and Far East, on the other... A map attached to the agreement shows routes involving takeoffs and landings in ‘Israel’, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq, as well as a route that involves the overflight of Iran.” Source

They have also made it very clear that they will allow the Zionist entity to commit mass genocide because they want to continue to normalize relations with the Zionist entity. Even going as far as to warn the Muslim armies against taking action to stop the Zionist entity from murdering women and children.

“The Egyptian army, the president said, "with all its capabilities, resources and efficiency has just one objective and that's protecting Egypt and its national security". He cautioned his troops against harboring "illusions of power" and told them that the army's capabilities should be used "wisely."”

The other Muslim rulers made it equally clear that they wouldn’t deploy their militaries in support of Gaza – choosing to give their support to the Zionist entity, the USA, and each other as the massacre of the Palestinian civilian population continues.

How do they think that any of this remotely acceptable?

In Islam, we know that a drop of Muslim blood is more important than the Kaaba and all of its surroundings. But our ‘Muslim rulers’ have decided that there is a price for the lives of thousands of Palestinians – most of whom are children- and that is oil and gas. Is this the kind of rulers that we want to represent us?

They have shown us time and time again that our lives have no value for them- they will sell us off if it means maintaining their own power. So why do we continue to follow their orders? Do we think that this will protect us?

Do we fear that taking action to protect our Muslim brothers and sisters will harm us? It will free us from the USA, and all of its allies, who shed Muslim blood on a daily basis.

Our inaction in Gaza is just us complicit in the bloodshed that is taking place- and all for the sake of some Blood Oil.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Fatima Musab
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir