Tipping Point Position Statement on Palestine
12 February 2024
Tipping Point supports a ceasefire and release of hostages in Occupied Palestinian Territories and an end to Israel’s siege on Gaza causing forced displacement of peoples, catastrophic damage, and expanding violence in the region. At the time of writing, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 28,000, with more than 67,600 Palestinians wounded, including 10,000 children.
This position is in line with International humanitarian law, and shared with the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Climate Action Network International.
We call on the Australian Government to cease military aid to Israel, allow unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid and restore UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) funding. We call on the Australian Government to support the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israel to: prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and full rights and autonomy for Palestinian people.
We commit to and advocate for truth telling, support the agency of people to call out racism and hatred, and condemn the silencing of those in the climate movement, in particular People of Colour and First Nations people, who have spoken out against silence of the movement, and support from the Australian Government in this continuing genocide. We see our role in this situation as one of learning and unlearning, both as an organisation and for the activists we work with, as well as building connections with communities fighting oppression and advocating for justice and self determination. We strive to support those who speak out, and believe the space for them to do so should be protected.
As a national project of Friends of the Earth Australia, we stand with our friends and comrades at PENGON (Friends of the Earth Palestine) and with the people of Palestine and their resistance to occupation and apartheid and call for an immediate end to the assault on Gaza, as per the October statement.
Climate justice is inextricably linked to peace and conflict and addressing these as such is vital to creating a more equitable and sustainable future. Land, water, resource theft and access are climate issues. The stability, the cycle of life from land to human is being destroyed, impacting community resilience to climate change. Those living under occupation are more vulnerable to climate disasters, and are unable to safeguard agriculture such as ancient olive trees.
Quoting the Friends of the Earth open letter to CANA (Climate Action Network Australia), we believe that:
“...peace is a precursor to gender, climate, economic, social, and environmental justice. We understand militarism is an extension of a patriarchal system that is both damaging to people and planet, and thus perpetuates mutually reinforcing and interlinked oppressions of colonialism, sexism, cis-heteronormativity, ableism, capitalism, and racism.”
The lasting environmental cost of war is detrimental to people and the climate. Increasingly, these wars are waged to access fossil fuels which contribute to the climate crisis. More about why this is a climate justice issue here.
This crisis, once again, highlights that all of our struggles are intertwined. We believe that solidarity means showing up for people and justice issues in their times of greatest need, not solely acting on issues that are deemed by some to be "core" to our mission in the climate movement.
References
Demand a ceasefire by all parties to end civilian suffering in Gaza
Israel: Rafah Evacuation Plans Catastrophic, Unlawful
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International humanitarian law prohibits the forced displacement of civilians except when temporarily required for their security or imperative military reasons.
Order of 26 January 2024 - International Court of Justice
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On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered provisional measures in South Africa’s case alleging that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention, which require Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance, and prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide.
