UN adds 61 firms to list of companies operating in Israeli West Bank settlements

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva issued an updated list of companies it says are involved in business activities in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a territory the UN considers under illegal occupation. The list, first compiled in 2020 and subsequently revised in 2023 and 2025, adds 61 firms to the database.

The expansion brings the total number of listed companies to either 241, as reported by one account, or 214, according to another source. The discrepancy reflects differing tallies of the firms included after the latest update.

The companies now on the list are drawn from a range of countries, including Israel, France, Germany, China, the United States and Spain. Among the newly added firms are Israeli pesticides producer ADAMA, which is part of the Chinese‑owned Syngenta Group, Israeli real‑estate investment holding Alony Hetz, and Spain’s logistics firm Salvat Logistica. Earlier entries on the list include travel agency Expedia and home‑rental platform Airbnb.

The UN says the businesses’ activities are deemed harmful to Palestinians’ right to self‑determination and that the list could serve as a basis for boycotts or divestment campaigns. The update follows recent moves by Britain, backed by a dozen other mainly European nations, to impose trade restrictions on goods from the West Bank settlements, citing concerns that settlement expansion threatens a two‑state solution and may amount to ethnic cleansing.

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva rejected the list, describing it as a “distorted mechanism” created by a “deeply flawed body” with an automatic majority against Israel, and alleging that it is intended to persecute the Jewish state.

The release of the expanded list coincides with a reported surge in settler attacks against Palestinians and the proliferation of outposts, factors that have prompted additional scrutiny and potential sanctions from several Western governments.