UN expands list of companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements and includes CAF and Heidelberg Materials
The United Nations Office released the latest update(opens in new window) to its database of companies active in the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) on 26 September. The list now includes two companies that have been added following years of research and advocacy, including by SOMO and partners: Spanish construction company CAF and German building materials company Heidelberg Materials.
In this third version of the database compiled by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 158 companies from 11 countries are listed. While welcoming the update, in particular in relation to the companies SOMO sought to have added, this list exposes only the tip of the iceberg of corporate involvement in the illegal Israeli settlements.
The UN found “reasonable grounds”(opens in new window)
to conclude all companies included in the list are involved in certain activities in the settlements. These activities include the supply of construction equipment, security services, or banking and financial operations in the settlements. Years of documentation and advocacy by civil society organisations have led to increased public knowledge about corporate involvement in the settlements, and this is slowly but steadily translating into UN documentation.
From public knowledge to public record
In July 2020, SOMO and Al-Haq submitted a report to OHCHR revealing quarrying operations in an Israeli settlement by German building materials company Heidelberg Materials (Heidelberg), and the provision of construction materials used to establish and expand the illegal settlements in the West Bank.
In June 2024, SOMO and Amnesty International — along with 17 other NGOs — submitted evidence on the role of Spanish construction company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) in the Jerusalem Light Rail, which connects illegal settlements in East Jerusalem with the city centre in West Jerusalem. CAF is responsible for supplying trains, refurbishing rolling stock, providing signalling and energy systems, and operating and maintaining the Red and Green lines, in partnership with Israeli construction company Shapir(opens in new window)
.
CAF and Heidelberg have now both been included in the latest update of UN database. Both companies are listed for their involvement in “the use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes.” CAF is also listed for its “supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructure” and “[t]he provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport”.
As UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese underlined in her June 2025 report From economy of occupation to economy of genocide(opens in new window)
, which also mentioned CAF and Heidelberg, the entire business of the occupation forms part of a wider system sustaining Israel’s “settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians” in the OPT.
For that same reason, although the database is a key tool for transparency, it needs more resources to ensure regular updates and greater capacity to investigate and monitor not only the companies currently listed, but also those that are not. Currently, it is impossible for the database to capture every company involved in this system.
Breaking the cycle of complicity
While the list of companies exposed for their involvement in the illegal Israel settlements continues to grow, the inaction of the home states where those companies are domiciled continues. This is a blatant violation of the obligation on third-states to do everything possible to prevent genocide. In July 2024 the International Court of Justice determined(opens in new window)
that states are obliged to “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance” of the illegal Israeli settlements.
Meaningful action is required from governments, investors, and public institutions to ensure that companies no longer contribute to and profit from occupation, illegal settlements, apartheid, and genocide. We demand that:
- All listed companies, including CAF and Heidelberg, responsibly disengage from all activities in the illegal settlements, in line with international standards on business and human rights.
- Investors should divest from all companies listed in the UN database until they cease their involvement in settlement infrastructure.
- States must act in line with their legal obligations to prevent those companies from trading with and investing in Israel’s illegal settlements. This includes adopting and enforcing strong laws, oversight mechanisms, and procurement policies that align with their international obligations, and it includes ensuring access to effective judicial remedies.
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Aintzane Márquez
Strategic Litigation Researcher -
Lydia de Leeuw
Strategic Litigation Lead
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