UN publishes database of companies profiting from Israel's illegal settlements

The United Nations has published a list of companies with ties to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, the first time that such a list of companies has been published by the UN. The list contains 112 companies, most of them Israeli, with 18 international companies from US, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Thailand and the United Kingdom also included.

A spokesperson from Human Rights Watch that the lists' publication "should put all companies on notice: to do business with illegal settlements is to aid in the commission of war crimes". The list can be found on the OHCHR website and scrolling down to A/HRC/43/71.

The companies are included because of their participation in a range of activities, including:

• supplying equipment services or materials used for expanding settlements or the wall,
• supplying equipment for demolishing houses, olives groves or other crops,
• security services supporting businesses,
• Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and the development of businesses,
• using natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes,
• dumping pollution or waste on to Palestinian villages,
• Captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints.

A spokesperson from Human Rights Watch that the lists' publication "should put all companies on notice: to do business with illegal settlements is to aid in the commission of war crimes". The list can be found on the OHCHR website and scrolling down to A/HRC/43/71.

The list of companies includes:

• Airbnb
• American Israeli Gas Corporation Ltd.
• Angel Bakers
• Booking.com
• Citadis Israel Ltd.
• Expedia Group Inc.
• JC Banford Excavators Ltd.
• Motorola Solutions Israel Ltd.

However, some companies associated with maintaining settlements were not included on the list, including G4S, Hewlett-Packard companies, Hyundai Heavy Industries, HeidelbergCement, Cemex and Israeli arms maker Elbit Systems.

140 Israeli settlements have been built across the West Bank since 1967, housing 600,000 people. They are widely considered illegal under international law, however in November 2019 the US Secretary of State announced that the US was changing their policy and would no longer consider the settlements illegal.