The Palestinian Authority has obtained heavy machinery from Caterpillar (CAT), a company subject to long smear campaigns led by the BDS National Committee, which has claimed repeatedly that CAT bulldozers and other heavy vehicles are used by Israel to demolish houses and other “urban warfare” efforts.
The online campaign, which has been running in varying amplitudes since around 2010, apparently had minor success with a handful of groups claiming to have divested from the company. Notedly, the US-based company even won itself an entry on Amnesty USA’s website for its alleged “role in human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
However, last week, the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government published a post from an inauguration ceremony where the Japanese government was thanked for supplying the machinery, which supposedly would contribute to dealing with solid waste, at a value of 5 million shekels. Pictures even showed Local Government Minister Sami Hijawi climbing on one of the machines, smiling.
Crossing the 'BDS picket line'
This was seen by officials at the BDS National Committee as crossing the so-called “BDS picket line." Mahmoud Nawajaa, coordinator of the BDS National Committee, rejected the move on his social media accounts, adding: “The entire world is boycotting and divesting from the American company Caterpillar, which is involved in the crime of genocide in Gaza and the destruction of our homes everywhere! While the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government buys equipment worth 5 million shekels from it! It seems that the current government, with all its ministers of Canadian, British, and American nationalities, lives in a parallel world! It's true that we won't have much time for you during this period, but I promise we will follow up with you carefully!”
Some users were not at all surprised by this move by the PA, with one responding “the entire PA lives in a parallel world,” while another one commented: “Shame on them, they’re so happy about their achievement.”
Others tried to clear the Palestinian government of guilt, arguing that the equipment was donated by the Japanese government and not bought by the Palestinian one, meaning that the ministry had no way of choosing the company.
Several other users chose to reject the very notion of a boycott against Caterpillar, stressing their perceived hypocrisy shown by the BDS and Nawajaa. One user wrote: “Your water, electricity, gasoline, cigarettes – most of the consumables you buy, you know that they all originate with the occupation, and you do not have any problem. The difference with you now is that the ministry brought in vehicles of a type used by the occupation! I swear this story is beautiful. Most of you worked for the occupation and you didn’t have a quarter of a problem. Stop with all this exaggerated philosophy, just let people work.”
One last user elaborated angrily: “There is a crowd in this nation which lives its lives looking for content just to write, and they always go to the emotional side because in their imagination it will create an echo. Firstly, this is a Japanese grant for the Palestinian people… As for Caterpillar, it is the largest manufacturer of heavy equipment with very high quality. It has agents spread all over the world, and the Israeli army buys its equipment from the Israeli agent, just as our government does, and any contractor or municipality buys from the Palestinian agent. Just for your information, Caterpillar machinery is also used by the Civil Defense and some municipalities in Gaza, in addition to electrical generators that have been operating since the beginning of the war until this moment. By the way, the Israeli military drives Skoda, Ford, Chevrolet, Renault, Toyota and Isuzu cars. What do you think? Let's start telling anyone riding these cars that they should boycott them!”
According to a report from 2019 published by the now defunct Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, the BDS National Committee is comprised of 28 Palestinian groups, with one of the most prominent one being the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine (PNIF), a coalition of Palestinian factions, including, among others, Hamas, the Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); all designated as terrorist groups by multiple countries across the globe.