RAMALLAH, Wednesday, February 12, 2020 (WAFA) – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed today the release of the United Nations database of companies involved in Israeli settlements.

“We welcome the release of the UN database of companies involved in Israeli settlements and thank the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet for fulfilling the mandate given by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016 to prepare and release this database,” said Saeb Erekat, the PLO’s secretary general, in a press statement.

“This announcement enhances and consolidates the credibility of the Human Rights Council and international organizations in the face of the fierce attack and the intense pressure that the Trump administration places on these institutions to impede the implementation of its legal and humanitarian mandate entrusted to it by the international community,” he said.

“While this list does not include all the companies profiting from Israel‘s illegal colonial-settlement enterprise in occupied Palestine, it‘s a crucial first step to restore hope in multilateralism and international law,” he added.

Erekat, who called upon all companies “to end their complicity in the denial of our inalienable right to self-determination,” stressed that, “It is our firm belief that accountability and justice are essential requirements for peace. This database is the first concrete step towards holding Israel accountable for its illegal colonial-settlement enterprise in over half a century. It should serve as a reminder to the international community on the importance of strengthening the tools to implement international law at a time when the illegality of Israeli settlements is being challenged by those calling for the perpetuation of Israel’s control over the land, natural resources and the people of Palestine.”

M.K.