Cos without a just cause

TDT | agencies

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UN links 158 companies to Israeli settlements

After a long delay, the United Nations has finally published an updated list of companies operating in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.

According to the UN, 158 firms from 11 countries are now operating in these areas, with Israeli companies holding a major share. Despite a requirement for the database to be updated annually, it had only been revised once before, in 2023, when the 112 firms from the original list were reviewed. Friday’s release marks the first update to include new names.

The UN rights office report called on companies to “take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts” of their activities. It emphasized:

“Where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in remediation through appropriate processes.”

Israel denounced the report as “a document with no legal ground and far beyond the scope of the OHCHR”.

UN rights chief Volker Türk condemned Israel’s settlement policy in the occupied West Bank as a war crime.

Mostly Israeli firms

The list was first produced by the UN human rights office in 2020 amid harsh Israeli criticism. The UN rights office was asked to list companies found to be taking part in any of 10 specific activities, including construction, surveillance, demolitions and destruction of agricultural land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

It has stressed that listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”.

“A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those... were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned,” the rights office said.