On terrorism and environmentalism: a case study In hypocrisy

Difficult as it might seem to believe, this tweet today from SkyNews is not a spoof, even though the actual report by Lucia Binding clearly salivates over the Al-Qaeda linked group's environmental credentials and also praises the Taliban for similar green 'policies'.

The report says:

The Somali militant Islamist group, which has links to al Qaeda, has long had an interest in environmental issues  ........    regional leader Mohammad Abu Abdullah said the group had come to the decision due to the "serious" threat posed by plastic bags to both humans and livestock. He added that pollution caused by plastic was damaging to the environment. In the same announcement, the group said it has banned the logging of rare trees....  Last year, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada claimed Afghans should plant more trees because of their "important role in environmental protection, economic development and beautification of the Earth". In 2016, a magazine published by the Yemeni branch of al Shabaab criticised former US president Barack Obama for failing to adequately combat climate change during his presidency.

In fact, anybody unfortunate enough to have watched Sky News in the last couple of years will know they they view plastic as a threat but not Islamic terrorists, so this story - which frames terrorists as allies in what Sky regards as the main threat to humanity - fits their narrative very well. In fact, there seems to be no environmental issue anywhere in the world that escapes Sky’s attention or concern no matter how trivial it seems (just look at their website - the same, of course, applies to the BBC and all other mainstream media). Yet there is one exception and, unlike every other environmental problem this one is both deliberate and without any apparent benefit*** to those carrying it out. I refer to the  environmental catastrophe being inflicted on southern Israel by Hamas - another Al-Qaeda linked terror group that Sky views favourably.  For nine consecutive weeks now Hamas has launched hundreds of kites and balloons with explosive devices every day from Gaza creating thousands of fires that have destroyed tens of thousands of acres of farmland and nature reserves, and obliterated much of the wildlife there. The financial costs already runs to billions of dollars, without considering the long-term effects of the toxic fumes. And the attacks keep coming at ever greater ferocity without a word of condemnation from environmentalists anywhere in the world outside of Israel and without any mainstream media coverage.
 

***Actually Hamas does gain because the more damage they inflict on Israel the more international sympathy and aid they receive in return when Israel finally retaliates.