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Report
26 Nov 2024
Author:
Don't Buy Into Occupation
Israel/OPT: Over 800 European financial institutions have financial relationships with 58 companies actively involved in the illegal Israeli settlements, report finds
In November 2024 research by a cross-regional coalition of Palestinian and European organisations shows that, between January 2021 and August 2024, 822 European financial institutions (including banks, asset managers, insurance companies and pension funds) had financial relationships with 58 companies that are actively involved with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
Companies
Danya Cebus
- Partner
,
Hamat Group (Merhav)
- Partner
,
DNB
- Partner
,
KBC
- Partner
,
Société Générale
- Investor
,
BayernLB
- Partner
,
Erste Group
- Partner
,
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
- Partner
,
Delta Galil
- Partner
,
Altice Group
- Partner
,
SEB
- Partner
,
Carlsberg Breweries
- Partner
,
Shapir Engineering and Industry
- Partner
,
Mivne Group
- Partner
,
IBM
- Investor
,
KfW
- Partner
,
ABN Amro
- Partner
,
Intesa Sanpaolo
- Partner
,
Coca-Cola
- Partner
,
Groupe BPCE
- Partner
,
Shufersal
- Partner
,
CNH Industrial
- Partner
,
Vinci
- Partner
,
Mediobanca
- Partner
,
DZ BANK
- Investor
,
Handelsbanken
- Partner
,
Nordea Bank
- Partner
,
Swedbank
- Investor
,
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Partner
,
Alstom
- Partner
,
WSP
- Partner
,
Hyundai Heavy Industries
- Partner
,
European Investment Bank (EIB)
- Partner
,
Man Group
- Partner
,
Rabobank
- Partner
,
Cemex
- Partner
,
Commerzbank
- Partner
,
Alon Blue Square Israel
- Partner
,
Crédit Agricole
- Partner
,
Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB Group)
- Partner
,
Booking Holdings
- Service provider
,
Standard Chartered
- Partner
,
Israel Chemicals
- Partner
,
Matrix
- Partner
,
Bankinter
- Partner
,
Paragon Banking Group plc
- Partner
,
Deutsche Bank
- Partner
,
Ashtrom
- Partner
,
Impact Property Development (formerly Re/Max Israel)
- Partner
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Issues
Complicity
,
Violence
,
BHRC Project: OPT Tracker
,
Land Rights
,
Illegal settlements
Response
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 1 Nov 2024
Location:
Palestine, State of
47 European creditors have allegedly provided loans and/or underwriting services between January 2023 and August 2025 to the 104 businesses that were identified for the purposes of the report "Don't Buy Into Occupation". The financial data drawn from this research and included in the table below refers to the total credit exposure between each creditor and the businesses (at group level) that have activities that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and/or the commission of the crime of genocide.
Companies
Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen
- Investor
,
NORD/LB
- Investor
,
Danske Bank
- Investor
,
Barclays
- Investor
,
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
- Investor
,
Unicredito Italiano (now Unicredit)
- Investor
,
Crédit Mutuel
- Investor
,
ING Bank
- Investor
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Community: (
Number unknown
- Palestine, State of
, Finance & banking
, Gender not reported
)
Hilan Ltd is one of Israel’s leading providers of software as a service. In June 2014, Hilan Ltd acquired Ness Technologies Inc, a Tel Aviv-based provider of information technology services.
Ness services a wide range of business sectors, including the homeland security and defense sectors in Israel. Among other services, it also develops warfare systems and systems for managing military and defense processes.
Companies
Hilan
- Parent Company
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Community: (
Number unknown
- Israel
, Technology: Software & web-based/digital services
, Gender not reported
)
Issues
Complicity
,
Genocide
,
Violence
,
Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discrimination
,
BHRC Project: OPT Tracker
Response
Response sought: Yes, by Don't Buy Into Occupation
Bank Leumi lends money for construction projects in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, provides loans to multiple settlement regional and local councils, and has provided financing for the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project, which connects settlements. Bank Leumi operates branches in West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements
Companies
Bank Leumi Le-Israel
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Issues
Land Rights
,
BHRC Project: OPT Tracker
,
Illegal settlements
Response
Response sought: Yes, by Don't Buy Into Occupation
Paz Retail and Energy Ltd. (formerly Paz Oil Company) operates filling stations in various settlements in the occupied West Bank including Beit El, Ma’ale Adumim, Mishor Adumim, and Ofra, and in the settlement neighbourhood Pisgat Ze’ev in occupied East Jerusalem.
Companies
Paz Retail and Energy Ltd. (formerly Paz Oil Company)
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Issues
Land Rights
,
BHRC Project: OPT Tracker
,
Illegal settlements
Response
Response sought: Yes, by Don't Buy Into Occupation
"Don't Buy into Occupation IV report November 2024", 26 November 2024
New and updated research by a cross-regional coalition of Palestinian and European organisations shows that, between January 2021 and August 2024, 822 European financial institutions (including banks, asset managers, insurance companies and pension funds) had financial relationships with 58 companies that are actively involved with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
During this period, USD 211 billion was provided in the form of loans and underwriting to these companies. As of August 2024, European investors also held USD 182 billion in shares and bonds in these companies.
The financial data presented in this report refers to the total investments (shares, bonds, loans and/or underwriting) in companies that have activities in or business relationships with the illegal settlements in the OPT. These companies also conduct business outside the settlements...
The 58 companies for which this research found financial relationships with European financial institutions are: Airbnb; Alon Blue Square; Alstom; Altice International; Ashtrom Group; Axel Springer; Bank Hapoalim; Bank Leumi; Bezeq Group; Booking Holdings; Bright Dairy & Food; Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF); Carlsberg; Carrefour; Caterpillar; Cellcom Israel; Cemex; Cisco Systems; CNH Industrial; Danya Cebus; Delek Group; Delta Galil Industries; eDreams ODIGEO; Elbit Systems; Electra Group; Expedia Group; Hamat Group; Heidelberg Materials; Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE); HikVision; Hilan; Hyundai Heavy Industries; IBM; Israel Chemicals (ICL Group); Israel Discount Bank; MAN Group; Matrix IT; Mivne Group; Mizrahi Tefahot Bank; Motorola Solutions; Orbia; Partner Communications; Paz Oil Company; Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006; RE/MAX Holdings; Shapir Engineering and Industry; Shikun & Binui; Shufersal; Siemens; Syensqo; The Coca-Cola Company; TKH Group; Tripadvisor; TUI Group; Villar International; Vinci / SEMI; Volvo Group; and WSP Global.
All 58 companies are involved in one or more of the “listed activities that raise particular human rights concerns”, which constitute the basis for inclusion in the UN database of business enterprises that are involved in Israeli settlements, which was published in February 2020 and updated in June 2023. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is currently preparing a new update, which is expected to be published in early 2025.
The German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) has rejected the complaint submitted by Palestinian villages and individuals against Axel Springer SE.
Five Palestinian plaintiffs, along with the villages of Iskaka, Marda, and Taybeh in the occupied Palestinian territory, represented by the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC), have filed a legal complaint against major German media publishing group Axel Springer S.E., alleging violations of German law on corporate due diligence obligations.
Research by a cross-regional coalition of Palestinian and European organisations shows that, between January 2021 and August 2024, 822 European financial institutions (including banks, asset managers, insurance companies and pension funds) had financial relationships with 58 companies that are actively involved with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The confab put on by real estate site Yad2, a subsidiary of publishing giant Axel Springer, includes numerous companies doing business in the West Bank.