112 Companies That Support Israeli Soldiers Colonizing Palestine Lifestyle – 3 hours ago

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The United Nations (UN), in 2020, released a list of 112 companies that have business ties in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.

Launching from The Guardianamong these companies are well-known in Indonesia, including TripAdvisor, Airbnb, and the British truck and digging equipment maker, JCB.

According to the same report, most of the 112 companies with business ties in Palestinian settlements, mainly in the West Bank, are Israeli-owned companies. In fact, running a business on occupied land is illegal under international law.

Apart from that, there are 18 international companies, including Opodo from England and Booking.com from the Netherlands, which are included in the list of 112 companies.

The UN said that the data report released was not part of a legal process and did not have any legal impact on the companies concerned. However, it is said that the list can be a reference material for Palestinian supporters to put pressure on the Israeli government and carry out a boycott of companies that support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

“I realize that this issue will continue to be controversial,” said Head of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2018-2022 period, Michelle Bachelet, quoted on Wednesday (25/10/2023).

“However, after an extensive and thorough review process, we are confident that this fact-based report reflects the serious consideration that has been given to this unprecedented and highly complex mandate,” he continued.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki welcomed the report released by the UN and called it a “Victory for international law and diplomatic efforts”.

Meanwhile, group Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), saidThe data-based report released by the UN is “the first very significant concrete step by a UN entity to hold Israeli and international companies accountable.”

For information, the UN Human Rights Council was reported to have adopted a resolution in 2016 to produce this report.

Several travel companies are accused of profiting financially from the Israeli occupation by renting out rooms in homes and guesthouse owned by settlers in the Palestinian territories.

In 2018, Airbnb announced that it would remove all properties in Israeli settlements from its website. However, after protests in Israel, the company from the United States (US) reversed this decision.

Previously, JCB had long been criticized by human rights activists because the Israeli military was photographed using JCB bulldozers in the West Bank.

It is known that Israel captured the West Bank from Jordanian troops in 1967 and continues to control and occupy the territory, while the Palestinian population living in the West Bank has limited autonomy.

Palestine and most countries in the world consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.

However, Israel denied the accusations and the US said that Israeli settlements in the West Bank were no longer considered illegal.

Response from Israeli officials

Former Israeli President, Reuven Rivlin, invited all parties who support Israel to oppose boycott threats from around the world, especially after the UN released a list of companies that have business ties in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israeli settlements.

“We call on our friends around the world to oppose this shameful initiative,” Rivlin said.

According to Rivlin, the UN list includes leading Israeli companies in key sectors, such as food, transportation and communications, which occupy the West Bank and are the biggest drivers of Israel’s economy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his party would “fight the threat of boycott with all our might.”

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(hsy/hsy)