Palestinians hail UN report on companies with Israeli ties

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian foreign minister hailed the release on Wednesday of a UN Rights office report on companies with Israeli settlement ties and urged the international community to press the businesses to cut their links with the enclaves.

“The publication of the list of companies and parties operating in settlements is a victory for international law,” said a statement issued by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-maliki’s office.

Maliki urged Un-member states and the UN Human Rights council to “issue recommendations and instructions to these companies to end their work immediately with the settlements.”

The report said it had identified 112 business entities which it has reasonable grounds to conclude have ties with Israeli settlements — 94 domiciled in Israel and 18 in six other countries including the United States, Britain and France.

The report also include Airbnb, Expedia and Tripadvisor.

Inclusion on the list has no immediate legal implications for the companies. Though Palestinians and much of the world view the settlements as illegal under international law, the United States and Israel dispute this.

But the issue is highly sensitive as companies named could be targeted for boycotts or divestment aimed at stepping up pressure on Israel over its West Bank settlements.

“I am conscious this issue has been, and will continue to be, highly contentious,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.

Bachelet’s office said the report “does not provide a legal characterisation of the activities in question, or of business enterprises’ involvement in them.” Her spokesman, Rupert Colville, said in videotaped remarks made available to reporters that work on the report involved extensive cross-checking and use of company annual reports.

He said it was “not a blacklist, nor does it qualify any companies’ activities as illegal.” There was no immediate reaction by the United States, Israel’s main ally, but Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called the report a “shameful capitulation” to anti-israel groups.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear he considered the US government’s position on settlements under President Donald Trump as more important than the views of UN organizations.

“We will ensure the (US) recognition of our sovereignty over those settlements — that will cancel out the entire impact of the United Nations because the United States is more important than the UN”, he told Army Radio.