More than 670 European financial institutions have ties with companies that are involved in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to a report released by the Don’t Buy Into Occupation group.
The report calls on the companies “to end all investments and financial flows” into the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.
The findings detail financial dealings worth $255 billion (218 billion euros) between 2018 and May 2021 directly or indirectly linked to the settlements — including loans or share and bond purchases — involving major European firms like BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.
Many large Israeli companies are active in those communities, including leading banks like Leumi and Hapoalim, telecom and internet providers and supermarket chains, among others.
The report, however, is not an account of financial dealings directly occurring in Israeli settlements. For example, many of the European companies named have been implicated because they hold shares in non-Israeli firms, like machinery giant Caterpillar, whose products have been used in settlements.
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