In the summer of 2025 I felt like I couldn’t stay idle any longer as the bombs rained over Gaza and I read news of Israel deepening its occupation in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. At the same time the Finnish government was stalling the decision of recognizing Palestine, and have still not succeeded at it as we approach November and a fragile ceasefire in Gaza is in place. Finland has also remains complicit in war crimes by unconditionally continuing its arms trade with Israel.(https://europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/how-finland-funds-a-genocide).
Since the autumn of 2023 I had occasionally been going to demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza and consuming books and documentary films about Palestine but I hadn’t been active in other ways. The summer school of Sumud, the Finnish Palestinian network, offered me a chance to get acquainted with people who wanted to make a real impact.
During two days in August next to a beautiful lake in Sastamala, we planned campaigns and gathered in the sauna and around the campfire. The internatonal group of people included Finns, Palestinians and people from the Baltic and Nordic countries. The atmosphere was warm despite the serious topics. The gathering sparked ta positive feeling of community, which inspired me to remain active during the darkening autumn days as the undescribable war crimes towards Palestinians continued in Gaza and the West Bank.
What does Palestine have to do with environmental justice?
Friends of the Earth International has published the Mapping the Complicity -infographic about how the genocide in Gaza has degraded the environment in the enclave. The infographic can be found here: https://www.foei.org/publication/mapping-the-complicity/.
Among other things the infographic shows that ”98% of groundwater in Gaza is unfit for consumption due to seawater intrusion, raw sewage seepage, and contamination from toxic war materials.” Toxic and medical waste has also been dumped without separation mechanisms or treatment due to the destruction of the waste disposal system in Gaza.
The infograph also tells of ”Widespread soil damage and destruction due to bombing, bulldozing, and heavy metal contamination from war materials.” The opportunities for agriculture and food production in Gaza have been seriously decimated by the destruction of wells, farmland, greenhouses and over extraction of groundwater.
These consequences are all part of Israel’s attempts to make Gaza unlivable for its inhabitants. In addition to the direct impacts of Israel’s daily attacks during the past two years, bans on fishing in the waters of Gaza and the restriction of aid have had a huge impact on Gaza’s population. During the spring and summer of 2025 Israel blocked all aid to Gaza after the failed attempt at a ceasefire in March. This lead to the death of at least 86 people by famine in Gaza only in July 2025 (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/31/the-mathematics-of-starvation-how-israel-caused-a-famine-in-gaza).
The Mapping the Complicity -publication also provides a snapshot of how fossil fuel corporations, arms companies and financial institutions have facilitated the genocide in Gaza. Many of these companies are benefiting from climate injustice in other parts of the world as well. The Palestinian struggle is interlinked with many other environmental and human rights struggles around the globe.
Many of the corporations that benefit from apartheid, occupation and genocide are important for Western goverments and this is a key factor in the long standing economic cooperation between Israel and Western economies. These connections have deepened Western complicity in the ongoing war crimes.
You can read more about companies complicit in genocide from the report From economy of occupation to economy of genocide by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf.
What can you do?
There are many ways to work for a just peace in the historic region of Palestine (https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine). A just peace refers to a state of peace where the Palestinans are allowed to return to their ancestral lands, the Israeli occupation and apartheid are brought to an end and the human rights of Palestinians are respected. Below I list a few ways to be active in Finland.
BDS
One of the most effective ways to activate yourself is through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS https://bdsmovement.net/) which has its roots in the Palestinian civil society. The movement works towards ending international support of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. BDS campaigns for ending economic complicity in Finland through Sumud: https://www.sumud.fi/bds/
Sumud
Sumud is an intersectional organisation that works for ending Israeli apartheid, occupation and colonialism and for the realisation of Palestinian human and political rights. They are one of the main coordinators of civil society activism for Palestine in Finland. You can participate by becoming a member of the association or joining a campaign or local group. Sumud organizes campaigns, demonstrations and other program in several Finnish cities. Check out their webpage here: https://www.sumud.fi/en/.
Dodo ry’s event Environment and Palestine in Helsinki on 25 October
Dodo is a Finnish environmental NGO that addresses environmental issues in community and embrace complexity and figuring things out together. They are organizing an event about. Environment and Palestine in Pasila, Helsinki on 25 October. Read more about the event and find the sign up form (with information in English) here:https://dodo.org/2025/10/14/ymparisto-ja-palestiina-25-10-2025/.
Students for Palestine
Students for Palestine Finland is a national student-led movement dedicated to advocating for the implementation of academic boycott in higher education institutions as called for by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. Read about the group here: https://studentsforpalestine.fi/
What does the future look like for Palestine?
It’s evident that Palestinians are not safe from further violence and displacement despite the ceasefire, which has already been breached several times. The destruction of Gaza is almost complete and Israel is breaking international law by continuing its occupation and apartheid policies as well as denying Palestinian refugees their right of return (https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule132 and https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/).
In addition to the psychosocial effects of the destruction of Gaza, opportunities for agriculture, access to water, education and health care have been brought to an extremely low level for the area's inhabitants.
The genocide hasn’t only affected the people of Gaza. According to figures from the UN's humanitarian office (OCHA), some 200 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of this year, including about 40 children (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8g9p0ppe0o). More than 10 000 palestinians are being detained in Israeli prisons (https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163169and) and new Israeli settlements are planned and constructed in Occupied Palestinian Territory (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1j5954edlno)
A process of ethnic cleansing and dehumanization of Palestinians that has been going on since 1948 (https://imeu.org/resources/resources/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba-catastrophe/142) has deteriorated in the last years. Opposing this development should be the moral duty of everyone. Since our political leaders have failed to act decisively against Israel’s war crimes, ordinary people everywhere in the world have raised their voices against the oppression of Palestinians.
I believe the majority of the world’s population is for granting Palestinians their basic human rights and upholding international law. This means opposing apartheid, genocide and illegal occupation. I believe supporting Palestinians right to life on their own land without the threat of violence is a mainstream point of view, not one of a marginal or extreme group. Defending the human rights of everyone in the world should be a given, not something you choose to do only when it benefits you.
Free Palestine!