US backs companies doing business in Israeli settlements after UN issues list of names
The Trump administration has hit back at the UN Human Rights Council for publishing a list of US and international companies doing business with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, calling it a ‘blacklist’ and encouraging all firms to continue working.
‘The UN “blacklist” is anti-business, seeks to isolate Israel, has no factual basis or legal force whatsoever, and should not be adhered to in any respect,’ US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement, 3 March.
‘Boycotts against Israel and companies doing business with and in Israel are contrary to longstanding US policy,’ he added.
A UN database of companies working in disputed Israeli settlements, published last month, lists 112 businesses, 94 based in Israel, six in the United States and 12 in five other countries.
The US companies are TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Expedia, General Mills and Motorola Solutions, according to information on the database.
‘The Government of the United States fully supports the US companies identified on the list and encourages all US businesses to continue to work with and invest in Israeli as well as Palestinian communities,’ Ross said
The database was published following a 2016 request by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
