Write to your MSPs seeking support for Dana Petroluem motion

Aberdeen headquartered Dana Petroleum is working with Israel to prepare for the extraction of Palestinian gas. This is called pillage, a crime under international law. And this despite their partner in crime, Italian giant ENI, pulling out of their partnership.

Take action: write to all your MSPs asking them to sign motion S6M-20480. Read the motion here.

Find your MSP email addresses here: https://www.parliament.scot/msps

We encourage everyone to put their own spin on their letter/email to their MSPs, but we've included a template letter below, which might be good inspiration, and people are welcome to use.

Template letter/email

Dear [MSP’s Name],

Re: Motion S6M-20480 – Dana Petroleum and Resource Extraction in Palestinian Waters

I am writing as your constituent to urge you to sign Motion S6M-20480 regarding the activities of Dana Petroleum.

As you may already be aware, Dana Petroleum, headquartered in Aberdeen and wholly owned by the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC), is part of a consortium that was awarded oil and gas exploration licences by the Israeli government in October 2023. These licences cover areas off the coast of Gaza, with 62% lying within internationally recognised Palestinian waters.

I am deeply concerned that a company based in Scotland is involved in resource extraction that legal experts and human rights organisations consider to be in breach of international law. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states are entitled to an Exclusive Economic Zone extending up to 200 nautical miles, within which they have sovereign rights over natural resources. Palestinians, however, continue to be denied control over gas fields located just miles off the coast of Gaza.

Revenues derived from fossil fuel extraction in the Eastern Mediterranean generate billions of dollars. Such revenues contribute to the continuation of policies including military occupation, settlement expansion, and the ongoing blockade of Gaza.

Given the Scottish Government’s stated position (in line with experts, scholars and human rights organisations around the world) that a genocide is taking place in Gaza, and in light of the Scottish Parliament’s previous support for measures including boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel, I believe it is both consistent and necessary for MSPs to support Motion S6M-20480.

No Scottish company should be profiting from resource extraction linked to occupation and genocide. Scotland previously took a principled position in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine; it must now hold Israel accountable for a genocide.   

I look forward to your response on whether you will sign the motion.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Postcode]