July 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) has denounced that there are at least 97 companies –mainly Israeli, but also American, British, Dutch, French, Spanish and Luxembourg– that collaborate in the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The original list of companies that operate in these territories was prepared in 2020 by the same body and included a total of 112 companies. Thus, 15 companies have been eliminated considering that they “have ceased their activity” in these territories.
International law considers all settlements illegal and so does the UN, whose Security Council urged Israel in 2016 to stop all settlement activity in the occupied territories.
Among the activities that may involve the inclusion of a company in the database of the UN Human Rights Office are, among others, the supply of equipment and materials for the construction and maintenance of settlements, the supply of equipment surveillance or demolition, carrying out financial operations that contribute to settlement development, captivating Palestinian financial and economic markets, or polluting and dumping waste in Palestinian villages.
The Israeli authorities announced on Monday the construction of 5,700 new houses in the Jewish colonies of the West Bank despite pressure from the United States to stop the expansion of the settlements.
This figure exceeds that of the 4,427 homes announced throughout 2022. In total this year it has announced the construction of 13,082 homes, above the previous annual record of 12,159, corresponding to 2020.
