Source: Amnesty International –
States, public institutions and companies the world over are enabling or profiting from Israel’s prolonged violations of international law, including its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, its unlawful occupation of the whole Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and its cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights it controls, through their complicity, support or self-imposed paralysis, said Amnesty International in a briefing published today outlining urgent calls to states and companies.
“It is beyond time for states, public institutions, companies, universities and other private actors to end their lethal addiction to economic gains and profits at all costs. Fifty-seven years of unlawful occupation and decades of apartheid have required in-depth and sustained support to Israel through economic relations and trade. Twenty-three months of relentless bombardment and an ongoing genocide have demanded endless supply of weapons, and surveillance equipment, backed by privileged trading relations and states and companies prepared to ignore the indefensible,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“This must stop. Human dignity is not a commodity. While Palestinian mothers in Gaza are left to watch their children waste away from starvation under Israel’s genocide, arms companies and others continue to reap substantial profits. Amnesty International calls on its members and supporters the world over to demand an immediate end to the political economy underpinning Israel’s international crimes.
“Today’s briefing identifies actions that states must take to fulfil their obligations, from banning and barring companies contributing or directly linked to Israel’s crimes, to effective legislation and regulation, and including divesting and ceasing purchases or contracts. It also lists actions companies should take, such as suspending sales or contracts and making divestments.
“The briefing also names 15 companies that Amnesty International has identified as contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation, genocide or other crimes under international law. They include US multinationals Boeing and Lockheed Martin,the Israeli arms companies Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Chinese company Hikvision, the Spanish manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), the South Korean conglomerate HD Hyundai, the US software company Palantir Technologies, the Israeli technology firm Corsight, and the Israeli state-owned water company Mekorot.
“But let’s make no mistake: these 15 companies are just a small sample of all those responsible for sustaining a government that has engineered famine and mass killing of civilians and denied Palestinians fundamental rights for decades. Every economic sector, the vast majority of states, and many private entities have knowingly contributed to or benefited from Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and its brutal occupation and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Amnesty International is publishing this set of urgent calls for states and companies on the anniversary of the 18 September 2024 UN General Assembly resolution, which demanded that Israel end its unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory within 12 months of its adoption. The resolution was adopted to implement the July 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion, which declared that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory is unlawful, that its discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians in the OPT violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid, and that Israel’s presence in the OPT must rapidly terminated.
These corporations must fulfil their human rights responsibilities or face consequences for their actions.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
The UN General Assembly then called on member states to take concrete steps to action the Court’s declaration to bring Israel’s occupation in the OPT to an end, including by taking “measures to prevent their nationals, companies, and entities under their jurisdiction from engaging in activities that support or sustain Israel’s occupation… to cease importing products originating from Israeli settlements and to halt the transfer of arms, munitions, and related equipment to Israel in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may be used in Occupied Palestinian Territory”, and to “implement sanctions, such as travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals and entities involved in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the Territory.”
“The 12-month deadline that the UN General Assembly resolution set for Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territory expires today, yet Israel continues to starve and slaughter Palestinians on a daily basis. Most member states have done next to nothing to press the Israeli government into complying with the resolution. They must end their indefensible, self-imposed inertia and immediately suspend all activities that contribute to Israel’s violations of international law – or risk complicity in the crime against humanity of apartheid, genocide, and other crimes under international law,” said Agnès Callamard.
Amnesty International is calling on states to ban, with immediate effect, the supply to Israel of all arms, military and security equipment and services, and all surveillance equipment, artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure used to support surveillance, security and military activity. This includes prohibiting the transit and transshipment of arms, military and security equipment and related parts and components bound for Israel through their jurisdictions, via their ports, airports, airspace or territory.
The organization is also calling for a halt to trade with and investment in companies based anywhere around the world that are contributing to Israel’s genocide, apartheid or unlawful occupation. These include at the very minimum the companies listed in the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’s report and in the UN Database of companies contributing to illegal settlements. States must ensure that companies operating within their jurisdictions comply with these bans.