Air In Palestinian Areas Contains 21% Oxygen, Toxic To Many Species Of Bacteria (PreOccupied Territory) ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Thursday, January 01, 2026

Air In Palestinian Areas Contains 21% Oxygen, Toxic To Many Species Of Bacteria (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

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Al-Khadr, January 1 - Human Rights Groups blasted Israel again today, alleging that the Jewish State makes no effort to prevent - and, some even allege, actively foments - the accumulation in areas under its occupation of atmospheric gases including one that poisons organisms known as obligate anaerobes.

Those creatures, the organizations charged, cannot metabolize oxygen, and that more than one fifth of the air in Palestinian areas under Israeli control contains that toxic substance, yet another example in a long litany of ways in which Israel disregards or actively seeks to undermine Palestinian welfare.

"Oxygen has proven over and over again a poison to species such as those in the genus Clostridium," explained a report by Human Rights Watch. "Bacteroides and methanogens similarly die soon after exposure to oxygen - yet Israel takes no measures to keep that toxic gas away from Palestinians. We even have credible reports of Israeli soldiers and settlers moving such air with fans, directing even more of the harmful substance toward Palestinian areas."

Amnesty International echoed these concerns, citing satellite data showing identical oxygen levels—approximately 21%—across the region, with no evidence of Israeli efforts to reduce concentrations in Gaza or the West Bank to safer, anaerobic-friendly levels below 1%. "This indiscriminate oxygenation affects not only human health but devastates entire ecosystems of sensitive microbes," said a spokesperson. "Clostridium botulinum, vital for certain natural processes, faces existential threat from this unchecked exposure."

Critics pointed to historical precedents, noting that Earth's atmosphere has maintained toxic oxygen levels since the Great Oxidation Event billions of years ago, yet Israel—unlike anaerobic havens such as deep-sea vents or sealed laboratories—refuses to engineer oxygen-free zones. "Settlers openly breathe, exhaling oxidized air, while military aircraft disturb atmospheric layers," the report alleged.

Palestinian health officials reported rising cases of aerobic bacterial dominance, displacing traditional anaerobes in soil and water. "Our children grow up in an environment hostile to these vulnerable species," said one Gaza microbiologist. "Where is the international outcry?"

Israeli officials dismissed the claims as absurd, stating that oxygen levels are natural and identical worldwide, including in Israel proper. "We are committed to the air we all share," a spokesperson said dryly.

The United Nations has called for an independent investigation into "atmospheric rights violations," while calls mount for sanctions until Israel depletes oxygen reserves in occupied territories.