UN adds 61 companies to West Bank settlements blacklist; database total now 214

GENEVA — The United Nations human rights office on Friday released a fresh update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the UN considers illegal, adding 61 companies and removing five, Reuters reported.

The list now covers 214 firms, most of them Israeli, from 11 countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.

Newly added firms include Israeli pesticides maker ADAMA, part of the Chinese-owned Syngenta Group; Israel-based real estate investment holding company Alony Hetz; and Spain’s Salvat Logistica, according to the Reuters report, carried by The Straits Times, The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel.

Companies already on the list include Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor. The five removed firms comprised two Spanish companies and one each from Canada, Israel and Portugal.

The report serves as a “reminder to companies that they have human rights responsibilities”, UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement, adding that firms “are expected to conduct due diligence to ensure that they do not become involved in human rights violations or abuses”.

Israel’s diplomatic mission dismissed the database on Friday: “This is a distorted mechanism — created by a deeply flawed body with an automatic majority against Israel,” alleging it was established to “persecute” the Jewish state. Israel views the West Bank as disputed rather than occupied.

The database was first produced in 2020 after a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a register of firms profiting from business in occupied Palestinian territory. Despite a requirement for annual updates, it has been revised only twice before, in 2023 and 2025, TRT World noted.