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Agence France-Presse

The UN has released a list of 112 companies with activities in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, including Airbnb, Expedia and TripAdvisor.
The move was cheered by the Palestinians but slammed as “shameful” by Israel, where officials fear the list could be used to boycott firms with ties to the settlements.
The UN report comes in response to a 2016 UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a “database for all businesses engaged in specific activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory”.
The UN rights office said that listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”.

Among the businesses on the list are a range of large international companies, including Airbnb, Alstom, Booking.com and Motorola Solutions.
“I am conscious this issue has been, and will continue to be, highly contentious,” UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said.
But she added that the findings had been subject to an “extensive and meticulous review process” and the report “reflects the serious consideration that has been given to this unprecedented and highly complex mandate”.
Run-down town of Abu Dis would be ‘Palestinian capital’ under Trump’s peace plan
Israel, which routinely accuses the UN and especially the Human Rights Council of bias against it was quick to slam Wednesday’s publication.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at retaliation.
“Whoever boycotts us will be boycotted,” a statement from his office quoted him as saying.
“We strongly reject this contemptible effort.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz labelled the move “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel.”

His Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Malki meanwhile described the publication as “a victory for international law and diplomatic efforts.”
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which advocates a wide-ranging embargo of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians, welcomed the list.
The database was scheduled to be released three years ago, but has repeatedly been delayed.
The rights office initially evaluated more than 300 companies.
But the final report published Wednesday cited 112 business entities that the office had “reasonable grounds to conclude have been involved in one or more of the specific activities referenced” in the 2016 resolution.
US ambassador to Israel warns Netanyahu against ‘unilateral’ West Bank annexation
It said 94 of the listed companies had their headquarters in Israel, while 18 others were spread across six other countries.
The UN agency said compiling the database had been a “complex process” involving “widespread discussions” with states, think tanks, academics and the companies themselves.
Human Rights Watch’s deputy advocacy chief Bruno Stagno celebrated the publication of the database.
This “should put all companies on notice: to do business with illegal settlements is to aid in the commission of war crimes,” he said.

Wednesday’s report meanwhile stressed that companies were not doomed to remain on the database forever.
“Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that … the business enterprise is ceasing or no longer involved in the relevant activity, the business enterprise would be removed from the database,” it said.
The report recommended that the database be updated annually, and urged the Human Rights Council to appoint a group of independent experts to handle this task.
Israeli settlements established in occupied Palestinian territory are considered to violate international law, and have long been seen as a major obstacle to peace, since they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than 600,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem among three million Palestinians, with tensions often high.


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Middle East

Airbnb and TripAdvisor on UN’s Israeli settlements ‘shame list’

The Israeli settlement of Ofra, in the West Bank. Photo: EPA

FILE - This Jan. 26, 2020, file photo, shows a view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Mitzpe Yeriho. The United Nations Human Rights Council released a list of more than 100 companies it says are operating in Israel's West Bank settlements. In a report Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, the council said the companies' activities “"raised particular human rights concerns.” The list is dominated by Israeli companies, but it also lists a number of international firms. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

epa08195730 An Israeli soldier walks next to his Pillbox (protected guard post) at the Israeli settlement of Beit El with the Palestinian village of Baytin in the background near the West Bank city of Ramallah, 05 February 2020. Media reports that Netanyahu is facing pressure from right-wing parties to act and annex areas of the West Bank Jewish settlements officially as part of Israeli territories after US President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced in a press conference at the White House on 28 January the US peace plan for the Palestinian-Israel conflict, dubbed 'The deal of the century'. The plan was rejected by Palestinian leaders and Israeli-Arab citizens. EPA-EFE/ABIR SULTAN

28 January 2020, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: An Israeli soldier aims his rifle towards Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against US President Donald Trump's plan for the Middle East, which would give Israel control over the contentious Jewish settlements on the West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley. The plan also calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. Photo: Mosab Shawer/APA Images via ZUMA Wire/dpa

Run-down town of Abu Dis would be ‘Palestinian capital’ under Trump’s peace plan

Israel's controversial wall in the occupied West Bank Palestinian village of Abu Dis, which is the proposed Palestinian capital. Photo: AFP

epaselect epa08173197 US President Donald J. Trump (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu while unveiling his Middle East peace plan in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 28 January 2020. US President Donald J. Trump's Middle East peace plan is expected to be rejected by Palestinian leaders, having withdrawn from engagement with the White House after Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The proposal was announced while Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, both visit Washington, DC. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

A general view picture shows the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City in the background and part of the Israeli barrier in the foreground, as seen from the Palestinian town of Abu Dis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

An abandoned Palestinian parliament building in Abu Dis. Photo: Reuters

US ambassador to Israel warns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against ‘unilateral’ West Bank annexation

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. Photo: Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool via AP)

News

World

The United Nations’ human rights office targets firms linked to Israeli settlements
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects work of a ‘biased and uninfluential body’


The UN has released a list of 112 companies with activities in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.


Airbnb and TripAdvisor on UN’s Israeli settlements ‘shame list’

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The United Nations’ human rights office targets firms linked to Israeli settlements Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects work of a ‘biased and uninfluential body’

The United Nations’ human rights office targets firms linked to Israeli settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects work of a ‘biased and uninfluential body’