Davos

Marx once quipped "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce" and Hegel stated that “what we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” I am no Marxist and I am no fan of Hegel's philosophy but was thinking that each reflects on their time (in the case of Marx he was thinking about the rise of Napoleon III as the French empire declined) or makes sweeping generalizations. I will try to avoid this as I make a few comments on the rise of Trump and his new "board of Peace" signed at this gathering that happens annually in the WEF at Davos: see my own contribution to irritating Davos attendees here: http://qumsiyeh.org/theworldeconomicsforumcontroversy/

I found myself rereading older literature from Franz Fannon, Howard Zinn, Edward Said, and others to make sense of what is happening and migt be coming down soon. I actually listened to Trump’s speech given at Davos. It was so full of lies as all his other speeches. For example, the US did not have a 'phenomenal' growth under him. The GDP growth for 2025 is in line with previous several years averages at 2.5% (China's average for past 5 years is 5.34%). More importantly, the US National Debt rose significantly and now stands at a staggering $38 TRILLION (that is $125,000 per every single person living in the USA). This is not counting corporate and personal debts which are also astronomical. All are projected to get worse as interest payments grow, US dollar continues to decline (inflation to continue to go up), and military spending from one to $1.5 trillion annually starting in 2027.

The tyrannical egomaniac running the USA is setting the earth on fire and the US public is being distracted with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions (the usual divide and conquer). But for him and his billionaire friends, they merely got richer (Trump got $1.5 billion richer in one year of the presidency per NY Times). This will be studied by historians after the next global war with comparisons drawn to the likes of Hitler, Musolini, Niron, or Genkiz Khan. But what is more interesting is how world leaders and business leaders bend their knee to this buffoon even when they know he is not going to spare them once they become the vassal rulers of provinces of the empire. [Governor Newsom of California and Canada’s prime minister said so openly]. But what about the so-called 'Board of Peace' created to replace the UN and for which its charter appointed Trump as its head with veto power FOR LIFE (unless he decides to step aside and appoint a replacement to his liking). Craig Mokhiber sarcastically wrote: “Mussolini has announced that he is establishing a ‘Board of Peace’ to rule over the survivors of the holocaust and to take over their property, and he has invited Hitler to be a member of the board. The plan has been endorsed by the League of Nations”! And notice the now signed charter clearly has a mission that will extend globally (not merely Gaza). That is why many western countries did not join us. But vassals like the UAE government and Hungary’s neo-Nazi President signed on. Netanyahu enthusiastically will join (he avoided going to Davos because there is an arrest warrant for him from the International Court of Justice).

Reminder 1:  "Master's Tool will not dismantle the Master's House" The late black feminist poet, writer and activist Audre Lorde

Reminder 2: This is day 838 since the invasion of Gaza and acceleration of the (still ongoing) genocide to finish off the work started in 1948 of ethnic cleansing. Three more journalists were murdered in Gaza over the weekend (now over 255 journalists murdered by the apartheid regime)

Reminder 3:Keep pushing to release all the Epstein files including links to Mossad, videos used to blackmail the likes of Trump and Clinton and find all the other lurking Epsteins.

More good people writing logic
1) Robert Reich https://www.facebook.com/reel/504783866018406
2) Maung Zarni about Davos and changing world order https://maungzarni.substack.com/p/at-davos-the-canadian-pm-former-banker
3) Benjamin Fogel: Sopranoes/Monroe
https://jacobin.com/2026/01/trump-sopranos-venezuela-monroe-doctrine
4) Alastaire Crooke: Trump aims for Venezuela, Cuba & Latin America
https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/12/17/trumps-geo-politics-correcting-the-imperial-model-shaping-the-incoming-economic-architecture/
5) John Kiriakou (ex CIA) on Israeli role in fomenting anti-Iran and anti-Islam hatred  https://x.com/Partisan_12/status/2011362104402751649
6) US Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson on same issue
https://x.com/SprinterPress/status/2012164631926596023
7) Canada's PM Carney on end of US empire https://youtu.be/dTvFnC-oFGw
8) Chris Hedges on the last elections https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-last-election
9) Sani P. Meo founder of the best color magazine in Palestine (and I venture to say globally): This Week in Palestine, This month's theme is “Jerusalem: The Heartbeat and Unbroken Spirit of Palestine” now accessible online at www.thisweekinpalestine.com

An astonishingly strong documentary on the French-German broadcaster ARTE about the systematic torture in Israeli jails. The systematic dehumanization being orchestrated f.i. by dogs & rape Palestinian prisoners L'enfer des prisons israéliennes | ARTE https://youtu.be/PHizfeozVws

Amnesty on why this is genocide
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/
and on why Israel is apartheid
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/
BTselem on why Israel is a racist apartheid state
https://www.btselem.org/publications/fulltext/202101_this_is_apartheid
and HRW https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution

Stay Humane, act, and keep hope and Palestine alive

War and Oil: Connecting the dots

 By Mazin B. Qumsiyeh

(and why everyone should boycott Chevron) [footnotes below]

The U.S. and Israel have a special arrangement since 1979 under which the United States would supply oil to Israel if Israel could not secure enough oil on its own due to shortage or supply disruption [1]. This pact is unique: No other country receives a similar guaranteed emergency oil supply from the U.S. and the agreement has been extended routinely with the last a extension for ten years! [2]. The US sent refined fuel to Israel to bomb Gaza in 2008/2009 even when gas prices at the pump got higher for US citizens [3].  In 2023, 60% of the crude oil imported by Israel (totals imports $3.23 billion) came from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to Turkish ports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (in which Chevron has the largest stakeholder- Chevron is also to be the main beneficiary of the attack on Venezuela). The percentage rose to 70% of crude supply through that pipeline between late 2023 and late 2025 [4]. Refined imports of $1.35 billion worth came mostly from Russia, Egypt, Turkey, and Romania. The U.S. is the sole documented supplier of military-grade jet fuel (JP-8) under aid programs during the war [4] of course paid for by US taxpayers to decimate Gaza and dramatically increasing greenhouse gases.

In 2020 Chevron completed a major acquisition of U.S.–based Noble Energy, which had been the lead developer of Israel’s largest offshore natural gas fields. This deal brought Chevron’s operations directly into Israel’s energy sector [5]. Chevron integrated into its global portfolio the "Tamar and Leviathan" offshore gas fields (Most portions of these belong to Palestine based on UN partition lines) and at least part of the ownership of the current Gaza strip [6]. In 2025, Egypt signed a deal to import $35 billion in gas from the Chevron operated gas fields (and a new "Nitzana" pipeline) off the coast of Gaza benefitting the apartheid state and the rich Chevron. Hence the ethnic cleansing and genocide on Gaza continues to empty it and allow for money to continue flowing. Here are the biggest institutional shareholders of Chevron (and people should write to them to divest): The Vanguard Group, Inc.; State Street Corporation; Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.; BlackRock Inc. And ofcourse boycott Chevron stations [See 7].

Venezuelan people and most of the world are fully aware that 1) Trump consulted with his partners in crime (Chevron CEO and Netanyahu) but not Congress when he decided to bomb for oil (and rare minerals), 2) The market bumbed up Chevron stock price upon hearing the news [8], 3) They are merely a stepping stone for taking over other countries (Panama, Canada, Greenland, Cuba)... But the imperial power WILL fail. I leave that to another analysis. But in the meantime do continue to act and we all need to work harder to stop the lunatics pushing us to WWIII.

[1] https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/894BE546-C7E6-4BC4-A3F0-9E352549109B
[2] https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/323545
[3] https://wespac.org/2009/01/16/us-taxpayers-spending-over-one-billion/
[4] https://oilchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Israel-Gaza-Fuel-Data-v2.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[5] https://israel.chevron.com/en/about
[6] https://www.timesofisrael.com/chevron-seals-acquisition-of-noble-energy-which-operates-in-israel-gas-fields/
[7] https://bdsmovement.net/chevron https://afsc.org/BoycottChevron
[8] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/05/market-sees-chevron-the-big-venezuela-winner-but-oil-majors-face-a-long-road.html

2026

كما في الأعوام السابقة، شهد عام ٢٠٢٥ أحداثًا جيدة وأخرى سيئة، لكن ما يميزه حقًا هو شدة كليهما. وبينما أرغب في إلقاء نظرة سريعة على الماضي والتطلع إلى المستقبل، فإن عامي الجديد سيكون بمثابة بذل جهد أكبر للعيش في الحاضر. يُقال إن الماضي قد انتهى، والمستقبل سلسلة من الهدايا (عملنا). كلمة "Present" في اللغة الإنجليزية تعني الحاضر وأيضا الهدية. والكلمات ذات المعاني المتعددة تحمل حكمة الأجيال. في اللغة العربية، ترتبط كلمة الحاضر بالزمن وأيضا بالحضور الذهني بالانغماس في الموقف وبوعي عميق، وهو ما شاع استخدامه أيضًا على يد الراهب البوذي ثيت نات هان. الكلمة الصينية للأزمة 危机 (wēijī)، تجمع بين "الخطر" (危، wēi) و"الفرصة" (机، jī). مفهوم شائع خاصة في الثقافة الغربية بعد أن استخدمه جون كنيدي، مما يعكس وجهة نظر فلسفية مفادها أن التحديات في الأزمات تُتيح فرصًا للتغيير الإيجابي أو لحظات محورية. في حين أن الحرف wēi يعني بوضوح الخطر، فإن jī (أو 機) كان يعني في الأصل "نقطة حاسمة" أو "لحظة فارقة"، وليس بالضرورة "فرصة" بمعزل عن غيره، ولكن استخدامه في 机会 (jīhuì، بمعنى فرصة) تتفق لتفسيرات متعددة، مؤكدةً أن الأزمة نقطة تحول تحمل في طياتها إمكانية التهديد والفائدة. لذا بينما أستعرض أحداث عام ٢٠٢٥ وأتطلع إلى عام ٢٠٢٦ أرجو ملاحظة أنني أحافظ على هذا الوعي الحاضر. كما أعتقد بتواضع أن هذا إلى جانب وجود الناس من حولي والاهتمام بهم، هو أفضل هدية يمكننا تقديمها لأنفسنا. هذان الجانبان هما ما يجعلان الحياة جديرة بالعيش حتى في أصعب الظروف. كما قالها جدي (1908-1999) أن سر الحياةأ تكون كدا وودا.  في هذا الاستعراض للأحداث، أتناول الجوانب الإيجابية والسلبية، وفي النهاية أقدم توقعاتي لعام ٢٠٢٦.

عام ٢٠٢٥ في فلسطين والعالم

 

وفقًا للإحصاءات الرسمية (التي صدرت بشأنها شهادات وفاة)، قُتل ٢٢٩٠٠ فلسطيني في عام ٢٠٢٥ (٧٠٣٥٥ منذ ٧ أكتوبر ٢٠٢٣). وأُصيب ٥٧٨٠٠ في عام ٢٠٢٥ (١٧١٠٦٤ منذ ٧ أكتوبر ٢٠٢٣). لكن البيانات الديموغرافية المنشورة في مجلات مرموقة تشير إلى أن الأعداد أكبر بمرتين إلى ثلاث مرات بسبب إلى تدمير أنظمة الرعاية الصحية والوفيات المبكرة بسبب الأمراض والمجاعة الناجمة عن الحصار الإسرائيلي ومنع دخول المساعدات الإنسانية. 70% من الضحايا من الأطفال والنساء. كاد النظام الطبي في غزة أن ينهار تمامًا بسبب تضرر المرافق ونقص الإمدادات والهجمات على البنية التحتية للرعاية الصحية، مما أدى إلى تفاقم أزمة الصحة العامة، مع تفشي الأمراض المعدية وعودة ظهور فيروس شلل الأطفال. دُمر أكثر من 95% من المباني والبنية التحتية الأخرى في قطاع غزة. ما يقرب من مليوني شخص بلا مأوى. أصدرت محكمة العدل الدولية رأيًا يفيد بأن وجود إسرائيل في الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة غير قانوني وينتهك حظر التمييز العنصري والأبارتهايد، وأكدت حكمها بإمكانية وقوع إبادة جماعية جارية، وأنه يجب على إسرائيل السماح بدخول المساعدات الإنسانية. انتهكت إسرائيل جميع اتفاقيات وقف إطلاق النار التي أبرمتها، ليس فقط في عام 2025، بل في تاريخها الاستعماري القصير منذ عام 1948. منذ إعلانها وقف إطلاق النار الأخير مع حركة المقاومة في غزة (خطة ترامب/نتنياهو)، انتهكتها إسرائيل مئات المرات. قُتل أكثر من 1045 مدنياً فلسطينياً على يد قوات نظام الفصل العنصري هنا في الضفة الغربية. وأُصيب أكثر من 2500 شخص، وتشرّد أكثر من 65000 في الضفة الغربية (نتيجة لتدمير منازلهم في عمليات التطهير العرقي). يُعدّ الجيش الإسرائيلي أكبر منظمة إرهابية على وجه الأرض. تسارعت تداعيات الإبادة الجماعية عالمياً. سقطت الأقنعة عن وجوه الكثيرين. استيقظ الملايين، وعندما تُفتح أعيننا على الاستعمار والإبادة الجماعية والتطهير العرقي، ونرى أن الحكومات الغربية تدعم ذلك لأن السياسيين يتلقون رشاوى أو يتعرضون للابتزاز، لا يمكننا تجاهل الحقيقة. لذا، تسارع العمل من أجل السلام والعدالة عالمياً وباتت قضية فلسطين نقطة ضعف النفاق الغربي وستساعد في تفكيك الإمبريالية والاستعمار في عصرنا.

في معهد فلسطين للتنوع الحيوي والاستدامة - جامعة بيت لحم، ورغم عدم الاستقرار السياسي والاقتصادي، وبفضل جهود المتطوعين والداعمين من جميع أنحاء العالم، حققنا عامًا مثمرًا للغاية. عملنا هو من أشكال المقاومة بما في ذلك التصدي للإبادة الجماعية والتدمير البيئي. ستتلقون تقريرنا السنوي خلال أسابيع قليلة، ولكن باختصار، فقد قمنا بما يلي: 1) تنظيم أكثر من 25 رحلة ميدانية في أنحاء الضفة الغربية رغم الإغلاقات، 2) تنظيم وتوسيع مجموعاتنا العلمية، 3) نشر 20 ورقة بحثية (والمساهمة في 7 أخرى)، مع التركيز بشكل خاص على الآثار البيئية والاجتماعية للإبادة البيئية، وإبادة الجامعات، وإبادة الصحة في غزة، 4) الوصول إلى آلاف الشباب من خلال متحفنا المتنقل والثابت وحدائقنا وورش العمل التفاعلية، 5) تنظيم محاضرات وندوات لأكثر من 11000 بالغ حول العالم حول العدالة البيئية وحقوق الإنسان، 6) تقديم الدعم المادي والاستراتيجي للمجتمعات في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة لسد الفجوة بين العلم والبقاء، 7) العمل على سد الفجوات بين العلم والسياسة فيما يتعلق بالقدرة على التكيف مع تغير المناخ والاستخدام المستدام للموارد الطبيعية, 8) تمثيل المصالح البيئية الفلسطينية في مؤتمرات إقليمية ودولية رئيسية (خمس دول)، 9) الانتهاء من بناء المتحف الجديد والتحضير للافتتاح الكبير عام ٢٠٢٦، ١٠) أُطلقت مشاريع من بينها هيكلة الحما في منطقة العرقوب (بدعم من ناشيونال جيوغرافيك) وبنك بذور وطني، ١١) الترشِح لجائزة نوبل للسلام مُسلطةً الضوء على الأهمية العالمية للمقاومة البيئية.

لا تزال أمامنا مخاطر جمة عام ٢٠٢٦: ١) صراعات إقليمية وعالمية أشعلتها جشع القوى الإمبريالية والاستعمارية، من فنزويلا إلى فلسطين وكشمير وتايوان (وخطر تبادل نووي كبير)، ٢) مخاطر تغير المناخ والتلوث والاستغلال المفرط للموارد الطبيعية، ٣) العنصرية والحركة ضد المهاجرين والشعوب الأصلية ومحاولات تجريدنا من إنسانيتا وتدميرنا، ٤) الديكتاتوريات والفساد (خاصة هنا في فلسطين) والحركات اليمينية والفاشية عالميا... وغير ذلك الكثير. لكن هناك انتفاضة عالمية ستتسارع وتيرتها بسبب انتشار الوعي وفقدان الوظائف لا سيما للشباب. إن هذا التحول ليس سهلاً، ولكنه حتمي. وهذا يُعيدني إلى التأمل وما يقوله البوذيون: المشاركة ببهجة في أحزان هذا العالم. لذا قمت أنا وجيسي و7 متطوعون آخرون بجولة في الحديقة اليوم وسنزرع بعض النباتات ونزيل الأعشاب الضارة ونعتني بجراح الأرض (الجراح التي ألحقها بها البشر). إذا رغبتم بالانضمام إلينا أي وقت راسلونا عبر البريد الإلكتروني info@palestinenature.org

نتمنى لكم ولأحبائكم عامًا جديدًا سعيدًا وسالما وآمنا.

New Year Message

As in other years, there is the good and the bad that happened in 2025 but the intensity of both is what is rather unusual.  And while I do wan to briefly look back and look ahead, my own new year will be to push even harder to live the present. The past it is said is done, the future is a succession of presents (our work). The word 'present' in the English language refers to a gift. Words with dual meaning sometimes carry wisdom of the ages. In Arabic the world Al-'hader (the present in the sense of time) is rooted in the immersion in the situation (not a mere presence but a deep mindfulness (popularized also by Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh).  AI tells me that "The idea that the Chinese word for "crisis," 危机 (wēijī), combines "danger" (危, wēi) and "opportunity" (机, jī) is a popular concept, especially in Western culture after being used by John F. Kennedy, reflecting a philosophical view that challenges in crises present chances for positive change or pivotal moments. While the character wēi clearly means danger, jī (or 機) originally meant "crucial point" or "incipient moment," not necessarily "opportunity" in isolation, but its use in 机会 (jīhuì, meaning opportunity) makes the combined interpretation resonate, highlighting that a crisis is a turning point with potential for both threat and benefit". So while I will recap 2025 and look forward to 2026, please note I keep this mindfulness (present, alhader). I also humbly think that this combined with having people around and caring for people is the best gift (present) we can give ourselves. The two aspects are what makes life worth living even in very difficult circumstances.  In this recap of what happened I cover both good and bad issues and at the end give predictions for 2026.

2025 in Palestine and globally

According to official statistics (those issued death certificates) 22,900 Palestinians were killed in 2025 (70,355 since 7 October 2023). 57,800 were injured in 2025 (171,064 since 7 October 2023). But demographic data published in respectable journals suggest the numbers are two to three folds more (due to destruction of health care systems and premature deaths due to diseases and starvation resulting from the Israeli blockade and denial of entry of humanitarian aid. 70% of the casualties are children and women. Gaza's medical system neared complete collapse due to damaged facilities, supply shortages, and attacks on healthcare infrastructure resulting in severe public health crisis escalated, with outbreaks of infectious diseases and the re-emergence of poliovirus type 2 after being eradicated for 25 years. >95% of buildings and other infrastructure were destroyed in the Gaza Strip. Almost 2 million people are homeless. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an opinions finding Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory to be unlawful and in breach of the prohibition on racial discrimination and apartheid and emphasizing its ruling of plausibility of genocide ongoing and that Israel must allow humanitarian aid. Israel broke every ceasefire it had done not just in 2025 but in its short colonial history since 1948. Just since declaring the last ceasefire with the resistance movement in Gaza (the Trump/Netanyahu “peace plan”), Israel violated it hundreds of time. Over 1045 Palestinian civilians were murdered by the apartheid regime forces here in THE WEST BANK. Over 2500 were injured and over 65,000 were made homeless in the West Bank (ethnic cleansing homes destroyed).  The Israeli army is the largest terror organization on earth. The fallout from the genocide accelerated globally. Masks fell from many people. Millions became awake and once you open your eyes to colonialism, genocide, ethnic cleansing and see that the western governments support this because politicians are bribed and/or blackmailed. You cannot unsee it. So the work for peace and justice globally accelerated leveraging Palestine as it provided the Achilles heel of western hypocrisy and will help undo imperialism and colonialism in our time.  

In our Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) at Bethlehem University and despite the political and economic instability: with the help of volunteers and supporters around the world, we had a very productive year. Our work is a form of resistance including in challenging the genocide and ecocide. In a few weeks you will receive our annual report but briefly we: 1) Conducted over 25 field trips across the West Bank despite closures, 2) Curated and expanded our collections, 3) Published 20 research papers (and assisted in 7 others), with a specific focus on the environmental and social impacts of ecocide, scholasticide, and medicide in Gaza, 4) Reached thousands of youth through our Mobile Museum, on-site gardens, and interactive workshops, 5) Facilitated lectures and seminars for over 11,000 adults worldwide on environmental justice and human rights, 6) Provided material and strategic support to communities in the West Bank and Gaza, bridging the gap between science and survival, 7) Worked to bridge science-policy gaps regarding climate resilience and the sustainable use of natural resources in a conflict zone, 8) Represented Palestinian environmental interests at major regional and international conferences on biodiversity and climate action, 9) Finalized construction for the new museum and are preparing for a grand opening in 2026, 10) Launched projects including the Hima structure (supported by National Geographic) and a national Seed Bank, 11) nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, highlighting the global importance of environmental resistance.

As we look to 2026, we still face many dangers: 1) Regional and global conflicts created by greed of imperialists and colonizers ranging from Venezuela to Palestine to Kashmir to Taiwan (the threat of a nuclear exchange is significant), 2) threats of climate change, pollution and overexploitation of natural resources, 3) Racism and dehumanization of immigrants and indigenous people, 4) Dictatorships, right wing and fascist movements... and much more. But there is a global uprising (intifada) which will accelerate due to loss of jobs especially for young people. The transition is not easy but is inevitable. This brings me back to mindfulness and what the Buddhists say: to have joyful participation in the sorrows of this world. Thus, Jessie and I and the other volunteers will take a walk around the garden today and maybe do some planting and weeding and tending to the wounds of mother earth (wounds inflicted by fellow human beings). If you like to join us in the present today or tomorrow do email us at info@palestinenature.org

Happy and peaceful new year 2026 to you and yours.

Love

Mazin & team
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability
Bethlehem University
Occupied Palestine
http://qumsiyeh.org
http://palestinenature.org
facebook pages
Personal https://www.facebook.com/mazin.qumsiyeh.9
Institute https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH

Three Messages missed

December 17 2025

“But the angel reassured them [the Shepherd]. 'Don’t be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!' Luke 2:10–11

Next week I will send you a newsletter about our institutional work (palestinenature.org) since there were a lot of developments. But for now, this week's newsletter (on day 802 of the ongoing genocide in Gaza) focuses on human rights. Again open the links only if they intrigue you

Everyone now with minimal education knows there is a propaganda onslaught to bury the truth of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. Most people though now instinctively and based on data now know the level of "fog" and obfuscation issues when it comes to Israel and Zionism and its hold on western "democracies". But everyone also now knows that the Zionist narrative is collapsing (see West in panic as Israel loses narrative war https://youtu.be/m5CR42Yht8Q ). The mazing work for Palestine done in thousands of new organizations created in the past two years to not only respond to the genocide and ecocide and medicide and veriticide but also build a new global system away from wars and oppression. This global system is for sustainabiity of human and natural communities (enriching human and biological diversity. This is inherently decolonial global effort. I give now on average one to two talks every day. I also stay connected and attend events and activities with many of these organizations that occasionally I speak to like the Elders (for peace), Palestinian Social Fund, Saeel, Kairos Palestine, Rebuilding Alliance, Forensic Architecture, Buld Palestine and hundreds more. We only wish there were more than 48 hours in a day to get caught up!.

The new Zionist colony in my peaceful village of Beit Sahour, the Shepherds' field
https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/new-israeli-settlement-in-west-bank-town-near-bethlehem-threatens-the-christian-presence-in-palestine/

Palestinian Civil Society Organisations Expose Israel’s Systematic Torture of Palestinians before the UN Committee against Torture https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/27057.html

Is peace a pipe dream https://johnhorgan.org/cross-check/is-peace-a-pipe-dream
[based on an excellent talk I attended and plan to give a followup on this with a talk to the same group]

Australians Being Massacred Shouldn't Bother Us More Than Palestinians Being Massacred
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/australians-being-massacred-shouldnt
Questioning the simplified version of the attack https://youtu.be/f42ocurgm7U

The theft of archeology-- another form of ethnic cleansing  
https://youtu.be/WsstYNQ1T24
https://truthout.org/articles/this-palestinian-town-holds-5000-years-of-history-israel-is-about-to-seize-it/
https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-preparing-largest-ever-act-of-archeological-cleansing-in-west-bank/

This is the oldest temple in Lebanon…once a synagogue, then a church, and then a mosque. IsHell bombed and destroyed it after the ceasefire.
https://youtu.be/gdzuMn_mGMQ

This is what they do…steal everything Pali so as to fake that they’re from the land.  Excellent short report!  https://youtu.be/K-RLNgzYzf4

Tucker Carlson explains things well
https://x.com/tuckercarlson/status/1998949704772759672?s=51

Zionism is pure evil. We MUST eradicate it.  https://youtu.be/naP1JAEXCTs

Hundreds of Santas march into the British Parliament to end the genocide and for Palestine https://x.com/SuppressedNws1/status/2000018085781393543

The Trump-UN Gaza plan is no path to peace. Here’s a better way.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5640894-gaza-conflict-trump-plan/amp/

Non-Eurocentric Non-Orientalist Interdisciplinary Knowledge is Crucial to Liberation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koi5ZQFnkJc

London conference on attacks and killings of Journalists (what is becoming an epidemic of silencing) https://www.londonfreelance.org/fl/2512un-day.html

They're driving Europe crazy for a reason
https://youtu.be/yVZkf3-NxxU

LULLABY - TOGETHER FOR PALESTINE
https://youtu.be/G957oaAZwhc

Finally a short poem "Purpose"
We can help without interfering
In the fate unfolding
Not to fashion a destiny
neither to act in enmity
But to enjoy and aid
nature's evolving cascade
not to breach
neither to beseech
to act without destroying
to build without obstructing
Looking inward is key
to future living free
aid the natural blooming
of life's miracles growing
and planting a better future

for every living creature
from Qumsiyeh, Mazin 2025. “Purpose” pp 199-200 in International Bilingual Poetry: Poems and Bengali translations of contemporary 147 English poets from 62 countries. Edited and Translated by Md Ejaj Ahamed Published by Nasrin Sultana, Dream Raft Publication Mahendrapur, Suti, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.

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December 24

We received many messages in response to our (Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability or PIBS) holiday greeting. We are grateful to all especially those who did a year end donation (pallestinenature.org/donations ). Greetings of holidays for all religions is important for us at PIBS because the institute believes in preserving and enriching human diversity and biological diversity (connected and there are threats to both driven by greed and militarism). Our motto is respect: for ourselves, for other human beings (regardless of background, and for nature/mother earth.

Think of Others by Mahmoud Darwish Translated by Mohammed Shaheen
As you prepare your breakfast, think of others - do not forget the pigeon’s food
As you conduct your wars, think of others - do not forget those who seek peace
As you pay your water bill, think of others - those who are nursed by clouds
As you return home, to your home, think of others - do not forget the people of the camps.
As you sleep and count the stars, think of others - those who have nowhere to sleep
As you liberate yourself in metaphor, think of others - those who have lost the right to speak.
As you think of others far away, think of yourself say: “If only I were a candle in the dark”

“You give but little when you give of your possessions; it is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?  And what is fear of need but need itself.” Kahlil Gibran, “The Prophet” 1923

We had our staff and volunteer gathering yesterday (see pictures at https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH ) and while we enjoyed good company and good food, we did think of others and will work harder to serve.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently boasted that Israel is the guardian of Christianity in the Middle East. To test this claim Peter Oborne travelled to Bethlehem to learn how Palestinians are surviving this Christmas in the birthplace of Christ.
https://youtu.be/iajob-0fLDA
here is Sabeel's statement: https://sabeel.org/category/wave-of-prayers/
and Kairos Palestine: https://www.kairospalestine.ps/index.php/resources/statements

I was honored to be a speaker in this (great conversations): "Land and Resistance: Cooperativism from Palestine to Turtle Island" https://youtu.be/xfrqgHyAdbI
and at this Elders for disarmament and the cultures of peace meeting 15 12 25. Recording here: https://youtu.be/OzVTJ4Kk6lA

My latest book readings in the past two weeks
1) Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (echos of our own experience with indigenous knowledge and nature)
https://www.joycerain.com/uploads/2/3/2/0/23207256/braiding_sweetgrass_1.pdf
2) Warsaw 1944 : A city raised to the ground Alexandra Richie (Echos of what is happening in Gaza Strip- remarkable similarity but Gaza was worse in degree)
Review: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/115/115cienciala.pdf
[I could not locate an online PDF to share- I have the paper book itself , 738 pages]

Have a peaceful week and keep hope alive

==========================

December 30 2025

 With my wife and three volunteers we went to watch the film "The voice of Hind Rajab" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voice_of_Hind_Rajab

The docudrama opened deep wounds and the packed audience all cried. I cried more and could not sleep receiving messages from friends in Gaza about their desperate situation. My friend Hiam tells me that time has run out, that we cannot expect her to keep her patience and resilience after 26 months of horrors. She even contemplates suicide. Cold, starvation, slow death everywhere. But also killings continue while the world normalized genocide; two criminals (Trump and Netanyahu) meet to plot inflicting more suffering.  Sleep is hard to come by.

Greta Thunberg arrested under the Terrorism Act for holding a sign which says "I support Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide.' Supporting prisoners on hunger strike unjustly held for months is a crime in the land of Lord Balfour!

How long can Starmer ignore the Palestine Action hunger strike?
https://www.youtube.com/live/ZnoSPgU5eTc

Christian treatments by the Jewish state https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSr5mpPgoFu/

A  Holiday Circle For the Love, Protection and Freedom of the Palestinian People with Music, Poetry, Prayers, Praise and Messages for Liberation and Courage! https://youtu.be/qqtqZw7Yah0    
Message from Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh & Meditation by Stephen Fulder
https://youtu.be/fJFkpZBHjrs

A new year's message and concert https://youtu.be/D-z-5BRY9HY

"And I’ve come to a stage where I feel humiliated to have to discuss it, because what is there to discuss? What is there to discuss when you’re murdering children, destroying hospitals, destroying universities, murdering journalists, and boasting about it, boasting about it? And everybody’s sort of ambiguous — I mean, what we are witnessing also is, I think, there are surveys that say that almost 90% of the population of the world wants this to stop, but there is no connection between democratically elected governments and the will of the people. It’s ended. So, the whole charade of Western liberal democracy is as much of a corpse under the rubble as the tens of thousands of Palestinians.“ Arundhati Roy

Rev. Munther Isaac: Christmas is not a Western story – it is a Palestinian one
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/12/24/christmas-is-not-a-western-story-it-is-a-palestinian-one

1,115 European financial institutions involved in financing 104 companies contributing to the illegal occupation and crime of genocide https://cihrs.org/1115-european-financial-institutions-involved-in-financing-104-companies-contributing-to-the-illegal-occupation-and-crime-of-genocide/

Our friend Muhammad Bakri died age 73. Here is a link to his documentary film Jenin, Jenin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkul4uv84sa
And here, thanks to zochrot, is the documentary by Bakri entitled Nakba 1948 https://www.zochrot.org/videos/view/56338/en

What the Zionist managed western media ignores: Epstein and Israel https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/the-new-york-times-ignores-an-essential-part-of-the-jeffrey-epstein-story-israel/

Behind the zionist think tank curtain – The Hidden Influence of U S & European Policy Groups https://youtu.be/bjsy2h2jnr0

Tucker Carlson https://youtu.be/yPggL9uarjg

Julian Assange files Criminal Complaint over Nobel prize endorsing
war against Venezuela
https://the307.substack.com/p/julian-assange-launches-criminal
https://file.wikileaks.org/files/2025/machado29-dist.pdf

Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire (who nominated me for the prize) supported his action: “I fully support this great action of Julian Assange which speaks truth to power. Indeed Alfred Nobel’s will is NOT for warmaking but peacemaking and the Nobel Committee is actually acting illegally by ignoring Nobel’s wishes”.

false flag? Https://youtu.be/f42ocurgm7u
The result is clear: NSW passes protest ban (you cannot oppose genocide), Premier ducks questions on armed CSG on Sydney streets https://michaelwest.com.au/nsw-passes-protest-ban-premier-ducks-questions-on-armed-idf-on-sydney-streets/
Petition from Jewish Council of Australia to the Australian government
https://jewishcouncil.good.do/unity/

Deal with the devil that Saved Zionism from Bankruptcy
https://youtu.be/ZyTjJZsJihI

This brilliant woman looked into the rumors that the "ballroom" Trump says he is building to replace the East Wing of the White House isn’t really a ballroom, and what she finds out, with evidence, is shocking. Seems they’ve hired an IsHell “architectural” firm to build an underground data center and bunker. She even proves the donors are fake. It starts at minute 1.19. https://youtu.be/VbJ4ilDvGyc
Watch soon, because her TikTok video had over 8 million views when they shut it down. They might do the same on YouTube.

A message of hope

As we close this difficult year, we ask you to consider supporting the work of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS, Bethlehem University) through a year-end donation or by volunteering your time and expertise. Your contribution (tax deductible in many countries) will directly support the opening of the Palestine Museum of Natural History and our ongoing conservation programs that protect the biodiversity and the human diversity that defines our beautiful Palestine.


This year has brought profound pain to our communities. It was a most difficult year not just in Palestine but globally. Everyday, our hearts are heavy with the weight of the genocide in the Gaza Strip, watching the systematic destruction of life, the environment (ecocide), and the very future of our people. Here in the West Bank, we have faced our own immense challenges. Unemployment reaching 50%, movement restricted with 1,250 gates and checkpoints installed just this year, and ongoing loss of life and property. Yet, in the face of this darkness, we have chosen to keep digging, keep planting, and keep building. We believe that caring for our land is a profound act of resistance and a way to hold onto hope.

Despite everything 2025 has thrown at us, your support has allowed us to achieve things that felt impossible a year ago. We publish about two research papers a month, thousands benefit from our facilities and programs (with 4–5 events every week), and we are in the final stages of opening the Palestine Museum of Natural History at the new building. It is becoming a beautiful reality. A place where our children can learn about their heritage and the resilience of nature. This year, we also successfully established a seed bank. These seeds are our promise that life will return and flourish. We worked hard to document the environmental impact of the war as well as to develop and implement plans of restoration and renewal.

To see the faces and stories behind this work:
A short video about our work https://youtu.be/qt8OTGoS198
View our daily updates on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH
10-Year booklet https://www.palestinenature.org/annual-reports/10-Years-PIBS.pdf
Visit ushttp://palestinenature.org/visit

We are deeply grateful for your generous contributions of time, money, and resources. Truly, you are the reason we can keep our doors open and our spirits high. You remind us that we are not alone.

Donate: https://www.palestinenature.org/donations/
Volunteer: https://www.palestinenature.org/volunteer/
You can also email us at PIBS@bethlehem.edu or info@palestinenature.org

Joyful holidays to you and yours, and wishing you peace, safety, and a more just and sustainable world (for people and all living things) in the coming year.

With warmth and gratitude,

The Team at the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability: Jessie, Amal, Sara, Johan, Zena, Victor, Mohammed, Saleh, Mazin, and the many volunteers (and soon to expand our team)
Bethlehem University
Bethlehem, Palestine
http://palestinenature.org
Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH

Testimony for the Gaza Tribunal

The extent of the ecocide that is accompanying the last two years of genocide in the Gaza Strip

I am Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, professor, founder, and director of the Palestine Instute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University. I have over 40 years of experience in working on environmental issues globally and have published over 250 scientific papers, over 30 book chapters, and several books. I also led national environmental efforts and served as a consulting scientist in global and regional environmental work. I provide this testimony to the jurors so that they can reach judgements based on facts regarding an aspect usually ignored in times of conflict: the ecocide. The facts listed below in this brief are very well documented and I provide refences from peer reviewed scientific work at the end that validate the statements made herein.

Let me begin by stating that the environmental costs of the colonial occupation and conflict on the land and people Palestine started nearly a hundred years ago with projects like draining the wetland of the Hula, diversion of waters of the Jordan River basin (the river used to flow at 1350 million cubic meters/year and now barely a stream at 20 mcm/y), and uprooting of millions of local trees. The previous damage also included bringing in dozens of invasive plant and animal species and planting a monoculture of pine trees to replace more resilient mixed wooded areas destroyed. This catastrophic environmental damage (which I dubbed an “environmental nakba”) has accelerated since 7 October 2023. Brief key areas of damage

-  Climate change impact due to incessant bombing campaigns that produced more greenhouse gases than most average countries produce from all other sources of greenhouse gas emissions

-  Israeli occupation forces (IOF) intentionally destroyed most trees and most greenhouses in the Gaza strip

- IOF destroyed habitats for most of the species in Gaza that are listed in the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

-  IOF extensively used environmentally destructive weapons such as white phosphorous and munitions  containing radioactive material.

- IOF destroyed essentially all institutions of higher education and research in the Gaza strip destroying possibilities of work on remedies/remediation or conservation

- IOF destroyed most of the hospitals and rendered other poorly operational. This combined with a blockade on food, medicine, fuel and water entering the Gaza Strip resulted in a huge environmental health catastrophe (famine, diseases spreading etc)

-  The denial of fuel and the relentless bombing decimated infrastructure like desalination plans and sewage treatment facilities resulting in cataclysmic conditions not just for humans but for fauna and flora of the Gaza strip

Resources/documentation

Abuawad, Ahlam and Griffiths, Mark and Edwards, Graham and Eftekhari, Adan and El-Ebweini, Mohammed and Al-Najar, Husam and Butmeh, Abeer and Abu Dayyeh, Rasha and Al-Shewy, Mohamed and Aker, Amira, From Ecocide to Genocide: A Call to Action for Scientists Globally to Address the Destruction in Gaza (November 04, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5021472 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5021472

Busby, Christopher, Robert L Gallagher, Yvon Anwar Saouiby, Jihad Abboud (2025) Anomalous Lead and Cadmium isotope ratios in dust samples taken near the site of the Israeli bombing in Beirut, Lebanon on Sept 27, 2024 provide evidence of neutron exposures. https://drive.proton.me/urls/NPC3NS64MM#wpnnuln19Ovs

Husein, D., & Qumsiyeh, M. B. (2022). Impact of Israeli segregation and annexation wall on Palestinian biodiversity. Africana Studia, 37, 19-26. https://www.palestinenature.org/research/160.-Husein---Qumsiyeh.pdf

Qumsiyeh, M. B. (Lead author). (2022). 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=257520 PDF https://www.cbd.int/doc/nr/nr-06/ps-nr-06-en.pdf

Qumsiyeh, M. B. (2023). Environmental justice in Palestine: Rights of natives to their environment versus colonial onslaught. Security in Context.  

Qumsiyeh, M. B. (2024). Impact of Israeli military activities on the environment. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 81(2), 977-992. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2024.2323365

Qumsiyeh, MB (2025) Ecocide and Resistance in Palestine. The Ecologist 2 Sept. 2025 https://theecologist.org/2025/sep/02/ecocide-and-resistance-palestine

Qumsiyeh, M. B., & Ali, R. (2024). Scholasticide: The ongoing colonial attack on Palestinian higher education. Science for the People, 26(3), 20-22, 46-47.

Qumsiyeh, M. B., & Soderberg, J. (2025). Colonialism and its effect on rights of people with disabilities (PWD): Case study from Palestine. International Journal of Disability and Social Studies. In press.

Ward, Michelle, James Watson, Jamon Van den Hoek, David Mills, Mazin Qumsiyeh, Hugh Possingham, He Yin 2025. War in Gaza severely impacts threatened species habitat. Science (Submitted)

Yin, H., Eklund, L., Habash, D., Qumsiyeh, M. B., & Van Den Hoek, J. (2025). Evaluating war-induced damage to agricultural land in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 using PlanetScope and SkySat imagery. Science of Remote Sensing. Vol. 11: Article 100199

Water apartheid': How Israel weaponises water in the Gaza Strip | Middle East Eye: Article by Nancy Murray (Middle East Eye) https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-israel-weaponises-water-gaza-strip

Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/09/emissions-gaza-israel-hamas-war-climate-change

Climate Justice, Imperialism and Palestine: Unpacking Global Systems of Oppression
https://worldbeyondwar.org/climate-justice-imperialism-and-palestine-unpacking-global-systems-of-oppression/

The Decimation of Gaza's Health Care System—Hospitals Destroyed and Lives Endangered

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27551938251378096

What to do with Debris in Gaza (report with interview of me)
https://x.com/anadoluagency/status/1905961839529201723