On Friday, 25 September 2026, the United Nations added 61 companies to a database of entities linked to business activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The update was issued under a mechanism managed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the request of the Human Rights Council.
Activities covered by the UN database
The database includes companies where the UN office believes there are reasonable grounds to conclude that they are involved in one or more of the activities identified by the Human Rights Council. These activities include supplying equipment and materials used to build, expand and maintain settlement infrastructure; providing surveillance, security, transport and utility services; and carrying out banking and financial operations that support the development of related projects.
The criteria also cover supplying equipment used to demolish homes and property and damage land and crops, as well as using natural resources, particularly water and land, for commercial purposes. They also include transporting or disposing of waste in Palestinian villages, and practices that place Palestinian businesses in unequal economic and commercial conditions.
The review process is based on a methodology drawn from the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Companies under assessment are notified of allegations concerning their activities and given an opportunity to provide information about their structure, ownership, business activities and links to the specified activities before a decision is made on whether to include or exclude them.
The database is a company-identification tool, not a judicial process
The database is not a judicial or quasi-judicial process. Rather, it was established as a tool to identify companies involved in the activities set out in the Human Rights Council resolution. UN reports call on companies to assess the potential negative effects of their operations on human rights, take steps to address them, and co-operate in providing remedies when their activities cause or contribute to harm.
The new update follows one issued by the UN human rights office on 26 September 2025, which at the time listed 158 companies from 11 countries. In that edition, the office added 68 companies to the 2023 list and removed seven after concluding that they were no longer involved in the activities concerned.
The 2025 review covered the status of 215 companies out of 596 entities about which submissions had been received following a public call for information in 2024. The companies’ activities covered by that update were primarily concentrated in the construction, real estate, mining and quarrying sectors, while cases whose assessments were incomplete continued to be reviewed.
The database dates back to a resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in March 2016, which requested the preparation of a record of companies involved in activities linked to the construction and development of settlements. The first edition was issued in February 2020 and included 112 entities, before 15 companies were removed in a June 2023 update following a review of information submitted on whether they remained linked to the specified activities.
