Palestine calls on world to include firms tied to Israeli settlements on 'terror lists'

The Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry has called on all countries to put individuals tied to settler terrorist organizations or companies investing in illegal Israeli settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories on their terror lists.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates urged states to prosecute such entities or individuals and to prevent them from entering their lands.

In addition, the ongoing human rights abuses by Israel are a reflection of the incitement campaign led by extremist ministers in the Israeli regime, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the ministry added.  

“The Israeli regime is desperately attempting to hide and legitimize the crimes of the occupying forces and seeks to give the impression to the international community that the conflict over the occupied West Bank is between Palestinians and Israelis,” the statement read.

This comes as the Israeli regime has been pressing ahead with its illegal settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories despite international outcry. The policy has seen the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist cabinet.

The anti-settlement organization Peace Now earlier this month said that the far-right cabinet of Netanyahu had advanced a record number of illegal units in settlements in the occupied West Bank in the first six months of the current year.

The Israeli human rights group said in a statement that the Tel Aviv regime had advanced 12,855 settler housing units across the West Bank since January, and the number is the highest figure that it has recorded since it started tracking such activity in 2012.

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A major European trade union organization has urged the European Union’s member states to ban the import and export of such commodities.

The United Nations has already published a list of companies with business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The international pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement said the database was “a very significant first concrete step by any UN entity towards holding to account Israeli and international corporations”.

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The international pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement calls for the boycott of German sportswear company Puma over sponsorship of the Israel Football Association.

The Sunday statement further called today for serious international intervention to force the Israeli regime to stop the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories in order to avoid an explosion of the situation.

The ministry urged the international community to take a tough stance against Israeli and settlers’ crimes and stand firm in enforcing international law on the situation in Palestine.

The UN last month expressed grave concerns about surging violence perpetuated by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, slamming it as "terrorism" against Palestinians.

According to human rights groups, acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces launch also raids on various cities of the West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what it calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

Watchdog reports record surge in Israeli settlement plans in West Bank

The anti-settlement organization Peace Now says Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet has advanced the highest number of illegal settlers units across the occupied West Bank in the first six months of the current year.

Israel occupied the West Bank, including the western part of the holy city of al-Quds, in 1967. It later annexed East al-Quds, which Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

Since then, more than 600,000 Israelis have moved into over 230 settlements on occupied land. All settlements are illegal under international law and have been criticized by the UN Security Council in several resolutions.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state with East al-Quds as its capital.

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