UN adds over 60 companies to Israel blacklist

Key Points:

• The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights added 61 companies to its blacklist of businesses operating in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, bringing the total to 214 companies from 11 countries, including major firms like Motorola and travel apps Airbnb, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor.
• The blacklist, created in 2020 under a UN Human Rights Council resolution, targets companies involved in activities such as construction and surveillance in Jewish communities beyond the 1949 armistice lines, which the UN considers occupied Palestinian territory.
• Israel criticized the blacklist as a politically motivated tool aimed solely at persecuting the Jewish state, noting that no similar lists exist for other disputed territories and claiming the database harms the livelihoods of local populations.
• UN human rights chief Volker Türk emphasized that the database serves as a reminder for companies to conduct due diligence and avoid involvement in human rights violations, while Israel's UN mission accused the database of promoting discriminatory treatment against Israel.
• The database has reviewed 381 out of 596 companies reported for potential violations, but has only been updated three times since its inception despite an annual reporting mandate.