Companies “took advantage of the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide,” said the UN special rapporteur on Thursday for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese.
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Mr. Albanese presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council a report entitled “From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide”, in which “the mechanisms of companies support the Israeli colonial project of travel and replacement of the Palestinians are studied.
Israel’s mission in Geneva said that Ms. Albanese’s report was motivated by her “obsessive and hateful program aimed at delegitimizing the state of Israel”.
The situation in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank is “apocalyptic”, argued Ms. Albanese. “In Gaza, the Palestinians continue to endure suffering that exceeds imagination.”
A “erasure machine”
“From weapons manufacturers to technology giants, including banks, energy companies, online platforms, supermarkets and universities, businesses have provided the tools, funding, infrastructure and legitimacy of this erasure machine,” accused Ms. Albanese in front of the UN Human Human Board.
“The colonies extend, funded by banks and insurers, fueled by fossil fuels and standardized by tourist platforms, supermarket chains and university institutions,” she said.
“All of this has contributed to strengthening apartheid and allowing the slow and inexorable destruction of the life of the Palestinians,” said this expert, whose presentation was greeted by applause in the hemicycle.
Ms. Albanese has long been the subject of requests for dismissal from Israel and some of her allies because of her accusations.
It was appointed by the Human Rights Council, but does not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
Take advantage of violence
Ms. Albanese specified before the press that she had contacted the 48 companies cited in her report, that 18 of them had answered her and that, among these, “only a small number had agreed to be questioned in good faith”, most “saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong”.
But she added that the number of companies concerned could be more than a thousand.
“People and organizations have taken advantage of violence and murders,” she said. “My report exposes a system, something so structural, widespread and systemic that there is no possibility of remedying it: it must be dismantled”.
AFP asked for a comment from several companies mentioned in the report. Some did not respond.
“We believe it is not up to us to decide where someone can or cannot travel,” argued the travel platform Booking.com.
A communication firm representing Microsoft replied that this technology giant had “no comments to do”.
The Danish giant of maritime transport Maersk assured having “maintained a strict policy consisting in not sending weapons or ammunition to Israel” since the start of the war between this country and Hamas.
“We obviously respect human rights,” reacted a spokesperson for the Swedish manufacturer of trucks Volvo, specifying: “We sell through resellers”.
Glencore, a Swiss mining group and non -raw materials negotiates, rejected “categorically all accusations”, considering them “devoid of any legal basis”.
The UN expert noted that consumers had “the possibility of asking for these businesses accounts, because we voted in a way with our portfolios”.
