Three African countries are fuelling Israel’s war
Three African countries are fuelling Israel’s war
Together, Gabon, Nigeria and the Republic of Congo are the largest supplier of crude oil to Israel. Critics warn this may make them complicit in genocide.
Ilham Rawoot
Some 37% of Israel’s crude oil is supplied by just three African states, according to new research by Oil Change International. Gabon provides 22% of Israel’s crude supplies, followed by Nigeria (9%) and the Republic of Congo (6%).
These crude oil exports have continued even after International Court of Justice found in January that South Africa’s case against Israel, if proven, could result in a ruling that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli forces have killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people.
According to a legal opinion by Irene Pietropaoli, a senior fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, fuel is essential to the activities of the Israeli armed forces, and states and firms that supply it “make an essential contribution to violations of international humanitarian law and genocidal acts against the Palestinians in Gaza.”
“This research highlights a crucial disconnect between political rhetoric and economic action,” said Lorne Stockman, the research director for Oil Change International, an advocacy organisation that tracks the activities of fossil fuel companies. “Some of these nations may publicly support Palestinian rights while their resources fuel the conflict.”
In March, for example, Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said: “There is no justification for the carnage that is going on in Gaza. It has to stop.”
Yet Nigerian crude oil continues to flow into Israel, potentially powering the tanks and armoured personnel carriers that make the carnage possible.
Business over ethics
“Unfortunately, as with many states around the world, most African states separate business from politics, diplomacy, morality and ethics,” commented Na’eem Jeenah, senior researcher at South Africa’s Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection. “Unless there is firm and concrete pressure for them to stop doing business with génocidaires, they will not.”
Jeenah added: “And the African Union, while it occasionally issues strong statements criticising Israel’s actions, has taken no concrete action.”
Fadhel Kaboub, a Nairobi-based senior adviser at Power Shift Africa, said that contractual obligations may limit the options available to African governments. Many oil deals give fossil fuel companies the right to do what they want with the oil they extract, he explained.
“And the African Union, while it occasionally issues strong statements criticising Israel’s actions, has taken no concrete action.”
The companies extracting this oil in Africa are Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Eni, according to Clean Oil International.
“The AU is clear on its stance on genocide but when it comes to economic leverage to support that stance, we don’t have it,” Kaboub said.
“Economically and geopolitically we are at the bottom of the hierarchy, playing the same roles today as during colonisation,” he said. “This takes away a lot of your sovereignty.”
The governments of Gabon, Nigeria and the Republic of Congo did not respond to The Continent’s requests for comment.