News / Palestine

German company exposed with business ties to Israeli settlements

Wednesday, 15 July 2020 6:03 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 July 2020 6:03 PM ]

Israeli guards chase Palestinian protesters who had gathered for a demonstration against Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the settlement of Beit El, July 1, 2020. (File photo by AFP)

Two civil society organizations have called on the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to include a German company in the list of firms active in Israeli settlement construction on the Palestinian land as well as human rights violations in the occupied territories.

The Ramallah-based al-Haq and SOMO research centers in a recent report suggested inclusion of HeidelbergCement Group in the OHCHR’s annual update on business activities related to settlements.

The report documents both direct and indirect implication of the company in the Nahal Raba stone quarry through its subsidiary Hanson Israel.

“As civil society representatives, it is our responsibility to support the office in the implementation of the mandate by continuing to provide information regarding the involvement of businesses in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise.”

HeidelbergCement and other businesses playing a role in Israel’s settlement enterprise, it added, “continued denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination and to permanent sovereignty over natural resources.”

Earlier this year, the OHCHR released a list of 112 companies that conduct business in Israeli settlements across the West Bank.

Of the entities listed, 94 are based in the occupied lands and 18 in the United States, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Thailand and Britain.

The database took almost four years to complete, after being mandated in a resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016.

The resolution urged the OHCHR to produce a “database for all businesses engaged in specific activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

In 'victory for international law', UN releases list of firms linked to Israeli settlements

The move was hailed by the Palestinian foreign minister as a victory for international law.

Israel’s unlawful annexation push has drawn widespread criticisms from the entire international community, including the regime’s closest allies.

The United Nations, the European Union and key Arab countries have all said the West Bank annexation would violate international law and undermine the prospects of establishing a sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 boundaries.