Israeli security forces take aim as a Palestinian protester looks on during clashes in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, Nov 24, 2017. (photo: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP)
About 100 local companies and 50 international companies that operate in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have received warning letters that they will be on the list.
“We will do everything we can to ensure that this list does not see the light of day.”
— Israeli UN ambassador, Danny Danon
Weeks ahead of the expected completion of a UN database of companies that operate in Israels West Bank settlements, Israel and the Trump Administration are working feverishly to prevent its publication. . . . [Ed. note: The publication has subsequently been postponed.]
While Israel is usually quick to brush off UN criticism, officials say they are taking the so-called blacklist seriously, fearing its publication could have devastating consequences by driving companies away, deterring others from coming and prompting investors to dump shares of Israeli firms. Dozens of major Israeli companies, as well as multinationals that do business in Israel, are expected to appear on the list.
The UN’s top human rights body, the Human Rights Council, ordered the compilation of the database in March 2016, calling on UN rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on Palestinians.
The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements, built on occupied land claimed by the Palestinians for a future state, to be illegal. Israel rejects such claims, citing the lands strategic and religious significance, and says the matter should be resolved in negotiations.
