The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Is Also a Looming Climate Disaster

Jan 11, 2023 | Aryn Baker
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Israel and the Palestinian territories are among the most climate vulnerable places on the planet. Yet the newly-formed government led by Benjamin Netanyahu has focused more on shoring up far-right support than addressing the challenges of global warming in the region.

In an arid region already threatened by desertification and declining precipitation, one would think that the looming climate catastrophe would catalyze a powerful climate movement. Instead, the whole thing is largely an afterthought. Climate made barely a ripple in the recent Israeli election, and in Palestinian politics, it has been sidelined by the government’s justified preoccupation with, well, Israeli occupation.In forming his new cabinet, Netanyahu replaced a vetted environmental protection minister with the former chairperson of the Knesset’s Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, who is widely considered to be more palatable to his ultra-conservative allies in the new government.