UN lists 150 firms tied to illegal Israeli settlements

"The United Nations has released a report, revealing that more than 150 companies, including Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor, are profiting from Israel's illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank. The UN human rights office on Friday updated its database, listing 158 firms operating inside settlements deemed unlawful by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). list of 3 itemsend of list While most of the companies are Israeli, the list also includes multinationals registered in the United States, Canada, China, France, and Germany."

"The update added 68 companies since the last publication in June 2023, and it removed seven firms, including British-registered online travel company Opodo and Spanish-domiciled online travel agent eDreams. The majority of the other firms were tied to construction, real estate, mining, and quarrying sectors that are central to Israel's settlement expansion efforts. More than 300 additional firms remain under review."

"The report emphasised that businesses have a duty to avoid fuelling abuses. 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, it said. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the findings highlight corporate responsibility in conflict zones. This report underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses, he said."

The UN human rights office updated a database listing 158 firms operating inside settlements deemed unlawful by the International Court of Justice in the occupied West Bank. More than 150 companies, including Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor, are identified as profiting from the settlement enterprise. Most companies are Israeli, while others are multinationals registered in the United States, Canada, China, France and Germany. The update added 68 companies since June 2023 and removed seven, including Opodo and eDreams. Many firms are tied to construction, real estate, mining and quarrying central to settlement expansion. Over 300 firms remain under review. The UN emphasised business duties to avoid fuelling abuses and to provide or cooperate in remediation for adverse human rights impacts.

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