West Bank25 September, 20263 min read
UN Human Rights Office Lists 214 Companies Linked to Israeli Settlements in Occupied West Bank
214 companies from 11 countries linked to Israeli settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem 61 additions and 5 removals brought the total to 214 on Sept. 25, 2026
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UN expands settlement firms
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights raised the number of companies listed in its database of activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to 214 companies from 11 countries on September 25, after adding 61 companies and removing five. The United Nations human rights office confirmed the involvement of 214 companies from 11 countries in activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and it urged these companies to take action to address the negative impacts of their activities on human rights. The UN Human Rights Office said it added 61 companies to the list while removing five that had previously been listed after it became clear they were no longer involved in the activities covered by the database.
The UN Human Rights Office said it continues to review other companies that did not complete their evaluation process by the time the report was issued, following a public call for information launched in 2024. The UN Human Rights Office classified corporate involvement into three levels, and it said 200 of the 214 listed companies contribute to adverse impacts on the right to self-determination while 14 are directly linked to these impacts.
Due diligence and categories
Volker Turk stressed corporate responsibility toward human rights and urged companies to take necessary actions to avoid involvement in violations or abuses, saying the report serves as a reminder that companies have human rights responsibilities. The UN Human Rights Office said it continues to review other companies that did not complete their evaluation process by the time the report was issued, after a public call for information launched in 2024. The UN Human Rights Office said it assesses corporate involvement based on the extent to which corporate activities affect Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and it said limited resources prevented expanding the assessment to also cover the impacts of these activities on other human rights.
The UN Human Rights Office said it classified corporate involvement into three main levels, causation, contribution, and direct link, and it said it did not establish any case where a company caused these impacts directly. The UN Human Rights Office said the standard of proof is “reasonable grounds to believe” that the company is engaged in a covered activity, a standard the Commission says is lower than the standard of criminal proof.
Israel attacks the mechanism
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva called the database a “political tool” used by Türk’s office “to advance a smear campaign against business enterprises that committed no wrongdoing,” and it said the rights council has no ability to force companies to act. Israel’s diplomatic mission also said the database was “a distorted mechanism — created by a deeply flawed body with an automatic majority against Israel,” and it alleged the database was established to “persecute” the Jewish state. The UN Human Rights Office said its work “is not intended to be a judicial or quasi-judicial process of any kind,” and it said the mechanism does not require asset freezes, fines, or a ban on dealing with the company.
The UN Human Rights Office said UN guiding principles state that a company that continues a business relationship despite ongoing negative impact should be “prepared to accept any consequences—reputational, financial, or legal—to maintain that connection.” The UN Human Rights Office said the update follows two recent reports on the involvement of business and economic interests in producing negative effects on human rights in the context of conflicts in Sudan and Myanmar.