A fire in an Israeli agricultural field near the border with the Gaza Strip. Photo: Flash90.

A petition urging the United Nations to condemn Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip for the campaign of environmental terror they have waged against Israel in recent months has gained thousands of signatures.

Gaza-based terrorists “have burned thousands of tires and launched hundreds of incendiary devices into Israeli territory,” the Change.org petition — authored by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) — explains. “The combined effect of these heinous acts has not only led to the release of toxic materials into the fragile ecosystem, but has resulted in the destruction of more than 7,400 acres of land, hundreds of acres of wheat fields, and 2,700 acres of protected nature reserves.”

The petition — for which the WJC set a goal of getting 10,000 signatures — calls on the UN Environmental Programme and its executive director, Erik Solheim, to “use all necessary measures at their disposal to ensure that these illegal actions cease immediately.”

Earlier this month, two top American Jewish leaders demanded global castigation of Hamas for its acts of eco-terrorism.

“These are acts of terror that must be condemned by all those who profess to care about the poisoning of the atmosphere and the destruction of the ecosystem, let alone peace in the region,” Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CoP) Chairman Arthur Stark and Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein said in a statement. “We urge environmental organizations in the US and abroad as well as people of good will to join in condemning these acts of eco-terrorism.”

Watch a WJC video promoting the petition below: