Today, Friday, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued an updated list of companies and institutions operating in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Office of the High Commissioner stated in a statement that this came based on the decision of the Human Rights Council, which requested the High Commissioner to issue a list of companies operating in the settlements, since their work is illegal.

He added, "The former High Commissioner, Bachelia, issued in 2020 a list of 112 violating companies operating in the settlements, which were supposed to be updated annually, but the issuance of the update was postponed, and with the issuance of the new list, 97 companies still carrying out their activities in the settlements were included."

He explained that 15 companies were removed from the list after it informed the Office of the High Commissioner to stop its activities in the settlements, referring to the recommendation of the fact-finding committee to investigate the repercussions of settlements on the political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people, and the companies' activities include various areas of work that violate the law according to international standards. .

For his part, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine in Geneva, Ambassador Ibrahim Khreishi, welcomed the statement issued by the High Commissioner, and his issuance of an update to the list of companies.

He pointed out that the State of Palestine will submit a resolution to the Human Rights Council at the current session, in which it calls on the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to provide financial and logistical resources to the Office of the High Commissioner, to implement the mandate of the Council to update the list annually, on the basis of adding new companies that have undertaken activities in settlements, and removing companies. which ceases its activities.

Khreishi called on brothers and friends to support this trend, and the need to stop dealing with settlements and their products, and to stop all activities with them, as they are illegal and in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the guiding principles on business and human rights.