How settlement businesses sustain Israeli occupation
Companies doing business in Israeli settlements contribute to and profit from land confiscations and the violation of Palestinian workers' rights - and support the settlements which are illegal under international law, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
The report, published on Tuesday by the rights group, is titled Occupation, Inc: How Settlement Businesses Contribute to Israel's Violations of Palestinian Rights. It called on governments to withhold aid to Israel, stating that they should "avoid offsetting the costs of Israeli government expenditures on settlements by withholding funding given to the Israeli government in an amount equivalent to its expenditures on settlements and related infrastructure in the West Bank".
The report, however, focused on explaining how Israeli and international companies engaged in business activities in the West Bank are inextricably linked to Israel's discriminatory policies in the occupied territories, which deprive Palestinians of their natural resources.
