UN adds 68 companies to blacklist for alleged complicity in rights violations in Israeli settlements

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations has added nearly 70 more companies to a blacklist of companies from 11 countries that it says are complicit in violating Palestinian human rights through their business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The new list spotlights companies that do business that’s deemed supportive of the settlements, which are considered by many to be illegal under international law. It includes an array of companies like vendors of construction materials and earth-movers, as well as providers of security, travel and financial services.

The list, formally known as a “database of companies,” now contains 158 companies — the vast majority Israeli. The others are from the United States, Canada, China, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Newcomers to the list include German building-materials company Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer, and Spanish transportation engineering firm Ineco. Among those still on the list are travel-sector companies U.S.-based Expedia Group, Booking Holdings Inc. and Airbnb, Inc.

While 68 new companies were added Friday, seven were taken off. A total of 215 business enterprises were assessed in this round, but hundreds more could get a look in the future.

The U.N.’s main human rights body passed a resolution nearly a decade ago to create the list, and Israel has sharply criticized it since. The revision could further isolate Israel at a time when some of its European allies have recognized an independent Palestinian state over Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.