Israel: Report calling for firms to pull out of West Bank endangers Palestinian jobs

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday slammed a Human Rights Watch report on companies operating in the West Bank, saying the publication “jeopardizes” the livelihoods of thousands of Palestinians and “discourages rare examples of coexistence” between Israelis and Palestinians.

The report, released earlier in the day, said companies operating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank contribute to “an inherently unlawful and abusive system” violating Palestinian rights and called on such companies to halt activity there.

The report described Israeli policies in the West Bank that lead to government support of settlements, the “unlawful confiscation” of Palestinian land and denial of permits to Palestinians.

According to the report, which cited examples of foreign firms linked to settlements, including cement and real estate companies, “Israel’s privileged treatment of settlers extends to virtually every aspect of life in the West Bank.”

“Settlement businesses unavoidably contribute to Israeli policies that dispossess and harshly discriminate against Palestinians, while profiting from Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and other resources,” HRW’s Arvind Ganesan said in a statement. “The only way for businesses to comply with their own human rights responsibilities is to stop working with and in Israeli settlements.”

In a brief statement, the Foreign Ministry said Israeli officials were studying the “lengthy” report, but that its general tone was “one-sided.”

“At a time when Israel and the international community are taking practical steps to bolster the Palestinian economy and increase Palestinian employment, Israel is concerned with this one-sided, politicized report, which jeopardizes the livelihoods of thousands of Palestinians and discourages rare examples of coexistence, coordination and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians,” the statement said.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War from Jordan. It is assessed that some 400,000 Israelis now live in the territory and in East Jerusalem. The 1990s Oslo accords divided the West Bank into zones known as Areas A, B and C. Area C — some 60 percent of the West Bank — is under full Israeli military and civilian control.

The accords were intended to lead to a permanent resolution within five years, but more than two decades later, peace efforts are at a standstill and a fresh wave of Palestinian gun, knife and car-ramming attacks erupted in October, pushing peace efforts off the agenda.

Palestinians ‘all but barred’

Some analysts say frustration with Israel’s continuing presence in the West Bank as well as the Palestinians’ fractured leadership have been key reasons for the violence. Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media for the continuing terror attacks.

West Bank settlements are considered illegal under international law and are seen by Western countries as major stumbling blocks in peace efforts since they are built on land Palestinians view as part of their future state.

In its report, HRW pointed to foreign firms operating in Area C of the West Bank to the benefit of settlements while “Israel all but bars Palestinians from building or extracting natural resources” in the zone.

Two examples it pointed out included Germany’s Heidelberg Cement and US-based Remax real estate.

Heidelberg told HRW that it believed its Nahal Raba quarry “does not infringe the human rights and livelihoods of the Palestinian people” and provided Palestinians with well-paid jobs.

Remax did not respond to HRW or to an email from AFP, but has said previously that its offices are independently owned and operated.

It said it “understands the serious nature of the controversy surrounding real estate operations in the West Bank and has been working to find a resolution that is acceptable to all parties.”