“Genocidal Israel’s isolation is intensifying” is the BDS movement’s reaction as now both initial international partners, Eni and Dana, have withdrawn from the consortium. The Palestinian-led global movement now calls for immediate pressure on Murphy Offshore Oil, a US based fringe player in the energy market apparently replacing them.
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest Palestinian civil society coalition that leads the global BDS movement, along with its partners, today celebrates a decisive victory in its energy embargo campaign as Korean-Scottish energy company Dana Petroleum withdraws from the consortium formed to illegally aid Israel’s colonial pillage of Palestinian offshore gas reserves.
This follows the withdrawal of Italian energy giant Eni in March of this year as a result of a pressure campaign, leaving the consortium scrambling to remain viable.
Juman Muhammad, International Campaigns Manager with the BDS movement, stated:
"The withdrawal of Dana Petroleum and Eni from what has rightly become a toxic project is a massive win for the BDS movement and our partners in South Korea, Italy, Scotland and beyond. Two major international energy companies have now been compelled to withdraw from an illegal deal with genocidal Israel to pillage Palestinian gas, showing the sheer scale of what grassroots pressure can achieve. BDS is truly unstoppable, and no corporation is too big to be forced to walk away from complicity in Israel's crimes.
"Apartheid Israel’s isolation is intensifying, and it is no surprise that Israel is turning to a marginal US company to continue its illegal activities. Murphy Oil should read the writing on the wall: it is stepping into a project that two major international energy companies have already fled, just as the US public has made clear its opposition to US complicity in Israel’s genocide and grave violations of Palestinian rights. BDS pressure should be applied to Murphy Oil to withdraw and end its complicity. And this should be a lesson to Chevron and other energy companies that are still complicit with Israel's regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid and illegal military occupation.”
The BDS movement, which has recently issued a legal briefing on Corporate Liability of Energy Corporations in relation to Israel’s violations of international law, has warned investors, insurers, banks and contractors across the supply chain against enabling Murphy Oil and Ratio Energies.
Dave Black, Energy Apartheid campaign lead at Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), said:
"We welcome the news of Dana’s exit from this partnership, which had aimed to profit from Israel's proposed pillage of Palestinian resources. It is shocking that it came to this: a company based in Scotland, where we see time and again that the people stand with Palestine and against apartheid, should never have got itself embroiled in such an immoral and illegal endeavour. Let this be a lesson to other companies: there can be no business as usual with apartheid and genocide. Murphy Oil, which has now taken the place Dana and Eni abandoned, should expect exactly the same treatment."
Bora Noon, of BDS Korea, said:
"Given that Korea has a history of resisting colonial occupation and theft, it is deeply shameful that a public Korean company was a part of this deal to begin with. We hope this will serve as a lesson to the Korean government and Korean companies that doing business with a genocidal state is not only illegal and immoral; it also comes at a financial cost. We call on President Lee Jae Myung, who has called Netanyahu a war criminal, to translate words into actions by cutting all ties between the Korean government and Israel, starting with the National Pension Service’s investment in Israeli stocks and bonds. All Korean companies and investors must also comply with their obligations under international law by severing all ties with Israel that may enable its genocide, illegal occupation and apartheid regime"
The BDS movement has previously warned all corporations complicit in Israel's atrocity crimes and human rights violations against Palestinians to end their complicity or face escalating BDS pressure including divestment, exclusion from contracts, mass protests, and possible criminal litigation against the companies, their boards and their executives.
Background:
In October 2023, just days after the start of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Israel awarded licences to a consortium for the exploration of natural gas within Palestinian waters. Such exploration would, if it went ahead, be illegal, amounting to the crime of pillage. The consortium consisted of Israel's Ratio Energies, Italian energy giant Eni and Dana Petroleum, a subsidiary of the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) that is headquartered in Scotland. For three years, Ratio Energies has been trying to get this consortium off the ground only for the main partners to withdraw thanks to powerful, strategic and intersectional campaigning from across the world.
In its latest attempt to pillage Palestinian offshore gas resources, Ratio has enlisted Murphy Oil in the consortium which takes a 50 percent stake and acts as operator of the project. The BDS movement and its partners have worked alongside Palestine solidarity coalitions, trade unions, climate justice groups, and human rights organizations in South Korea, Italy, Scotland, the UK and beyond. And now, the Palestinian campaign for energy embargo on Israel calls for massive public pressure on Murphy Oil Corporation to withdraw from this illegal project.
Additional Information:
- Brief summary of the mobilizations: Soon after the announcement of the exploration licences granted to the companies, a cross sectional and global campaign consolidated demanding that the two international partners- Eni and Dana-KNOC withdraw from the illegal consortium. Led by climate justice groups, unions and others working alongside Palestine solidarity groups, the campaign has built incredible grassroots power.
Eni’s exit in March of this year was a direct result of a sustained pressure campaign led by ReCommon, solidarity partners and civil society groups in Italy.
Building on it, the joint campaign against Dana-KNOC’s complicity further escalated its efforts. The campaign was launched in 2025 by the Urgent Action by South Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine, a coalition of 360+ civil society groups, working alongside solidarity groups in Scotland, including the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign as well as Friends of the Earth chapters.
Over May-August of 2026, the consortium’s validity has been under repeated scrutiny by apartheid Israel’s agencies. According to a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on 9 November 2026, the Petroleum Commissioner has granted the six offshore exploration licenses of Cluster G to Israel's Ratio Energies and the US company, Murphy Offshore Oil Co., Ltd, which takes a 50 percent stake and acts as operator of the project.
On November 5th, campaign activists received a letter from the Korean audit agency, responding to citizens’ demand for an audit into KNOC's investments. This letter included KNOC's response, dated August 2026, that it intends to withdraw from the consortium without providing a clear timeline of the exit.
- According to the 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice, companies implicated in Israel’s international crimes against Palestinians, including KNOC and its subsidiary Dana, as well as their executives and board members, may be held criminally liable for complicity in international crimes. Pillage as a war crime—including where committed by corporate entities by way of purchase of unlawfully appropriated natural resources of occupied territory—has been historically punished in international criminal tribunals. Read our legal briefing on Corporate Liability of Energy Corporation in relation to Israel’s violations of international law to know more.
- Korean President Lee Jae Myung condemned Israel's violations of international law and endorsed the ICC arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a war criminal.
- Last September, the Scottish parliament became the first legislative body in the world to endorse BDS against genocidal Israel.