Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister, commented that “the publication of the list of companies and parties operating in settlements is a victory for international law”.
Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister, commented that “the publication of the list of companies and parties operating in settlements is a victory for international law”.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has issued a list of companies with ties to illegal settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in a shocking new report. The report states that it has reasonable grounds to believe that these companies have been involved in certain activities related to the settlements, such as “supplying equipment and materials facilitating the construction and expansion of settlements and Israel’s West Bank barrier”.
The settlements are generally considered to be illegal under international law. Since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967, around 140 settlements have been built, which now house around 600,000 Jews.
The report went on to say that the companies’ activities “raised particular human rights concerns”. Some of the most notable companies listed as being involved with the settlement activities include:
- Airbnb
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- JCB
- Opodo
- TripAdvisor
- Motorola
The body charged with producing the report, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), made it clear that the list is not part of any judicial process and has no legal implications for the companies. However, the list could have a commercial impact on the companies, as consumers may take action to boycott those involved.
This list has been published in the wake of Trump’s unveiling of his widely derided Middle East peace plan, the so-called “Deal of the Century”, which provides for the annexation of the illegal settlements. This has in turn been strongly resisted by Palestinians.
Palestinians have long advocated for the removal of the settlements, and see them as a major obstacle to realising the wish of a Palestinian state.
Profiting from occupation
The list of international companies includes a number of travel companies (such as Airbnb) who have been previously criticised for listing rooms in settler-owned residences in the Palestinian territories. In 2018, Airbnb vowed to remove all properties in Israeli settlements from its website, before reversing the decision months later.
JCB has also been criticised in the past, as the Israeli military has regularly been documented using its bulldozers in the West Bank to demolish Palestinian homes.
It is unclear at this stage what the response from these companies will be.
A “victory for international law”
The reaction to the report from Palestinians has been generally positive. Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister, commented that “the publication of the list of companies and parties operating in settlements is a victory for international law”.
He also called on UN members states and the UN Human Rights Council to “issue recommendations and instructions to these companies to end their work immediately with the settlements”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retaliated on Twitter, by promising to “boycott those who boycott us”. He “rejected this contemptible effort”.
Human Rights Watch stated that the report “should put all companies on notice: to do business with illegal settlements is to aid in the commission of war crimes.”
Whatever the outcome of the publication of the report, it is nevertheless sends an important message of accountability to those involved with profiting from illegal settlements.
