DaysofPal- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has updated its database of companies involved in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, declaring such activities illegal under international law.
The revised list, published Friday, names 158 firms, most of them Israeli, while removing seven others, including the French multinational Alstom.
Among the companies added this year is German cement giant Heidelberg Materials, which told Reuters it had contested its inclusion, insisting it no longer operates in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The update also maintained the listing of major international travel and accommodation platforms such as Airbnb, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com, despite past controversies over their involvement.
The UN report noted that all companies on the list are engaged in one or more of ten activities identified by the Human Rights Council as raising serious human rights concerns, including settlement construction, land appropriation, and provision of services that sustain settlement expansion.
However, Palestinian officials and rights groups welcomed the update, saying it exposes the complicity of corporations in entrenching settlements, which the international community widely considers illegal.
The updated list adds 68 new names compared to the 2023 version, which contained 97 companies, while striking off firms such as the UK-registered travel platform Opodo and Spain’s eDreams Odigeo after UN investigators determined they were no longer involved in relevant activities.
The settlement business database was first published in 2020, following a 2016 resolution by the Human Rights Council, but has been updated only sporadically due to resource constraints.
The latest update comes amid mounting international pressure on the Israeli occupation to halt its war in Gaza and growing concern over escalating violence and forced displacement in the West Bank.
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