Geneva: A UN investigative report on Tuesday has unveiled the involvement of dozens of global companies in sustaining Israeli occupation and supporting its military practices in Gaza, saying it was a "lucrative genocidal campaign".
According to Kuwait News Agency, the report entitled "From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide" was authored by UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese. It warned that "while human life is being erased in Gaza and the West Bank is under escalating attacks, numerous companies are 'complicit' in advancing Israeli occupation's settler-colonial project at erasing Palestinians from their land," underlining that such behavior must be held to account.
The report detailed the involvement of entities across sectors ranging from arms manufacturers to tech, building, and construction firms, in addition to banks, insurers, pension funds, universities, and charities. It accused these firms of "grave structural violations" including occupation, annexation, apartheid, and genocide as well as crimes such as discrimination, wanton destruction, forced displacement, and starvation.
These actions have contributed to "choking the Palestinian economy" by facilitating the expansion of illegal settlements and exploiting Palestinian resources, transforming the occupied territory into a "captive market," it added. It emphasized that the Oslo II Accord "entrenched" this exploitation by institutionalizing the Israeli occupation's de facto monopoly over 61 percent of West Bank resources, triggering an estimated loss of at least 35 percent of Palestinian GDP.
In the arms and military technology sector, the report cited major companies such as US-based Lockheed Martin and Italy's Leonardo, accusing them of providing Israeli occupation with weaponry used in Gaza, transforming the Palestinian enclave into a "testing ground" for military technology. Other companies mentioned include US-based Caterpillar and South Korea's Hyundai, both accused of exporting bulldozers and heavy machinery used by Israeli occupation for demolishing infrastructure across Palestinian territories.
Moving to the tech sector, giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft were blamed for "supplying surveillance tools and artificial intelligence algorithms" used to enhance Israeli occupation's system of control over the Palestinians. Online platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb were criticized for "marketing Israeli occupation settlements" as ordinary tourist destinations, slamming these corporate practices as clear violations of international laws and humanitarian principles.
The report, due to be presented before the Human Rights Council on Thursday during its 59th session in Geneva, pushed for accountability, particularly when people's "right to self-determination and very existence are at stake," it emphasized.