The UN human rights office added 61 companies to its database of businesses engaged in activities linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. The list has 214 businesses in 11 countries, most of them Israeli.
The UN's 18-page report says 126 companies were assessed; five of the 158 firms on last year's list were removed. To be included, a company must engage in at least one of 10 prohibited activities and generally cause, contribute to, or have a direct link to adverse human-rights impacts in the occupied territory. The report's reasonable-grounds-to-believe threshold is lower than the beyond-reasonable-doubt standard generally used in criminal courts.
The UN contacts firms after concluding they are involved and gives them 60 days to submit information. It received responses from 14 companies after this assessment but did not specify how many of the 126 reviewed firms were contacted. Newly listed businesses include Spain's Salvat Logistica and Israel's Alony Hetz. In a non-binding advisory opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice said the settlements were unlawful.
