ANAS Sarwar is facing backlash from climate and human rights groups over his endorsement of the controversial Rosebank oil field.<\/p>\n
It comes after it was revealed that the project could send over \u00a3200 million to the Delek Group \u2013 an Israeli fuel conglomerate flagged by the UN for human rights concerns in Palestine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Delek also provides fuel to the Israeli military via its subsidiary, Delek Israel. Now, a coalition of climate and human rights groups \u2013 including the Scottish Palestine<\/a> Solidarity Campaign and Stop Rosebank \u2013 have written to the Scottish Labour<\/a> leader hitting out at his announcement of support for the development.<\/p>\n The move follows new research conducted by The Ferret<\/a>, which reveals that Rosebank\u2019s majority owner – Ithaca Energy – has already paid over $1bn in dividends to Delek Group since 2020.<\/p>\n The letter, sent just before the Scottish elections, urged Sarwar to reconsider his position and reject Rosebank.<\/p>\n READ MORE: BBC presenter puts Scottish private island with wallabies on market for \u00a33m<\/a><\/p>\n It also argued that the development would do little to help ordinary people, as the UK enters another period of high energy costs. This is due to the majority of Rosebank\u2019s reserves being oil for export.<\/p>\n Dave Black, energy apartheid campaign lead for the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said Sarwar\u2019s endorsement was \u201cprofoundly disappointing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNot one penny from North Sea<\/a> oil should flow towards a company that is fuelling the genocidal Israeli military and contributing to human rights abuses in the West Bank. Given Sarwar\u2019s comments on Palestinian human rights, his position on Rosebank stinks of hypocrisy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe expansion of illegal settlements is contributing to making life even more unbearable for Palestinians. We should be doing everything we can to defend their rights, not undermine them. Standing in solidarity with Palestine means opposing Rosebank.\u201d<\/p>\n