Wood Group set to profit from deal with Apartheid Israel

In November 2010 Aberdeen-based oil and energy company Wood Group signed a contract with Dorad Energy to build a natural gas power station in Ashkelon, Israel. This contract is worth approx £563 million and the 800-megawatt power station will produce 8 per cent of Israel’s electricity in the near future. New gas fields have been discovered within Israel’s off-shore area and Wood Group are intending to expand their operations in Israel; Shlomo Cohen, the Group’s Israel manager recently stated that: “The company considers this project as a cornerstone for extensive operations in Israel”.

Both Wood Group and Israel therefore have seemingly assured and profitable futures. This is in stark contrast to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Just ten miles from the city of Ashkelon lies the border of the Gaza Strip where, in 2010, the people of Gaza endured electricity cuts for 8-12 hours a day. These blackouts are a direct result of Israel, Gaza’s sole supplier of fuel, withholding fuel shipments to the Strip. This has a disastrous impact on the everyday running of essential services such as health and education for a people already on its knees as a result of the blockade of Gaza.

Currently, almost nothing can be exported, meaning that unless a company can sustain itself within the confines of Gaza, it will likely fail. Unemployment in Gaza stands at about 40 per cent, and around 80 per cent of people in Gaza rely on food aid. Egyptian authorities have recently opened the passenger crossing at Rafah, although it is not clear whether goods will be allowed through as well. If goods are to be allowed this represents an important step forward for the people of Gaza but does not alter the fact the Gaza has been driven to humanitarian disaster by the siege. This policy amounts to the collective punishment of the population of the Gaza Strip and therefore illegal under international law.

The illegal and violent policies of Israel towards the Palestinians take many other forms. The colonisation of the West Bank robs Palestinians of their natural resources as well as their sovereignty. The increasing Israeli settler population in the occupied West Bank makes full use of Palestinian water resources with Palestinians having, on average, access to a third of the per capita water usage of Israelis. This is due to the theft of Palestinian water resources through Israeli control of the major aquifers which they are obliged to share with Palestinians as part of the Oslo Accords.

Major gas deposits have been found off the coast of the Gaza Strip but lie dormant as Israel refuses Palestinians the right to develop and profit from the extraction of these resources. Furthermore, there is a reasonable suspicion that Israel plans to make full use of Gaza’s off-shore gas reserves. This expectation is based upon negotiations held between Israeli representatives and corporations holding contracts for the exploitation of these resources. These discussions include the possibility of connecting the extraction of the gas fields to oil terminals in Israel, including Ashkelon.

Israel continues to violate scores of UN resolutions, including: General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948) relating to the right to return of Palestinian refugees; Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) that defines the occupation of Palestinian territories as illegal; Security Council Resolution 446 (1979) which states that Israeli settlements are illegal; and General Assembly Resolution 3236 (1974) that affirms the Palestinian right to self-determination. Importantly, the Fourth Geneva Convention, which established the legal framework for armed conflict and occupation, makes Israel’s population transfer to settlements in the West Bank, collective punishment of the Palestinian population, use of torture, and the destruction of Palestinian property illegal under international law.

Many argue that economic integration and interdependence is the way to peace. However, although the UK government and the European Union have been eager to trade with Israel, they have done little to challenge Israel's human rights record. This is despite the fact that cooperation between Israel and the EU is dependent upon Israeli commitment to the shared values of “democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law and basic freedoms” and progress on conflict resolution.

In 2005, Palestinian civil society called for a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. Veolia, a company targeted for its participation in the construction of a rail network for illegal settlements in Palestine, has been losing major European contracts due to negative publicity and BDS campaign pressure. The company has, as a result, been trying to negotiate its way out of the contract it has in Israel. With the potential for Wood Group to pick up more contracts in Israel, a campaign that links the company to the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine could have the same effect.

A letter from the Aberdeen branch of SPSC to Wood Group raising these issues elicited a less than satisfactory response. The company states that they wish to see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and always abide by international law. Wood Group pointed out that they operate in many places “where there are distressing conflicts which cause hardship and inequity”, but do not wish to become involved in politics or conflicts. Unfortunately for Wood Group, working in a state which systematically denies rights and resources to their neighbours involves them intimately in the conflict. In addition, the real possibility that the facilities Wood Group construct in Ashkelon will be fuelled by resources stolen from Palestinian gas fields, will make the company complicit in the theft of resources.

SPSC Chair Mick Napier has said that “the Wood Group directors are colluding with Israel in a project that goes alongside the theft of resources from the Palestinian people of Gaza. Israel already stands accused by the compelling evidence of the UN Goldstone Report of crimes against humanity. This deal means the walls of their new Aberdeen HQ will be tainted with the blood of murdered Palestinians.”

It must be made clear to firms such as Wood Group who enter into profitable contracts within Israel that they will do damage to their reputation and, in the long-run, to their balance sheet. Just as Wood Group plans to expand its work in Israel, the BDS campaign will continue to expand its campaigns against those who are complicit with the crimes of Israel.