UN identifies 214 firms linked to Israeli settlements

Israel called the list “a distorted mechanism” that was “established solely to persecute the Jewish state.”(AFP) — The United Nations on Friday updated its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, listing 214 firms from 11 countries.The U.N. human rights office added 61 companies since last year’s update and removed five. Major companies including Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and Tripadvisor remained on the list.The report, which Israel sharply criticized, served as a “reminder to companies that they have human rights responsibilities,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement.Türk, who has previously condemned Israel’s settlement policy in the occupied West Bank as a war crime, said companies were “expected to conduct due diligence to ensure that they do not become involved in human rights violations or abuses.”Most of the listed companies were based in Israel. Others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.Two Spanish companies were removed from the database, along with one each from Canada, Israel and Portugal.‘Smear campaign’The human rights office said countries should “act with diligence” to ensure that companies working in conflict zones do not contribute to abuses.Israel called the list “a distorted mechanism” that was “established solely to persecute the Jewish state.” Its mission to the U.N. in Geneva said in a statement sent to AFP that the database was used to “advance a smear campaign against business enterprises that committed no wrongdoing.”Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the Palestinian territory among roughly 3 million Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under international law.The database was first published in 2020 after the U.N. human rights office was asked to identify companies involved in any of 10 activities related to the settlements. Those activities included construction, surveillance, demolitions and the destruction of agricultural land.Although the database is supposed to be updated annually, it had previously been revised only twice, in 2023 and 2025. The office has received submissions concerning 596 companies and has reviewed 381 of them.For the first time, this year’s list classified each company’s involvement in adverse impacts on the right to self-determination. The report said 200 firms, including Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and Tripadvisor, contributed to those impacts. It classified the remaining 14 as directly linked to adverse human rights impacts.Categories / InternationalSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads