UN expands list of firms involved in illegal Israeli settlement activities

The UN human rights office has added 61 more companies to its database, bringing the total to 214 businesses across 11 countries involved in activities linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The 18-page report explains that companies are included if engaged in at least one of ten prohibited activities, such as facilitating settlement expansion, supplying surveillance equipment, or providing banking and utility services, which contribute to or have a direct link to human rights impacts. Most companies are Israeli, with others based in China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the US, and the UK.