The UN blacklists 68 more firms over Israeli settlement ties, warning that unchecked expansion and occupation threaten to extinguish hopes for a two-state solution and lasting peace.
The United Nations has expanded its blacklist of companies accused of contributing to alleged human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, placing an additional 68 companies under scrutiny for their business activities in Israeli settlements. The move underscores growing international unease over Israel’s settlement expansion and its impact on the fragile prospects for peace.
The updated list, formally known as the “database of companies,” now contains 158 firms, ranging from construction suppliers and heavy machinery providers to security, financial and travel service companies. While the majority of these enterprises are Israeli, the new additions also include major companies from Germany, Spain, Portugal and other countries, signalling a widening scope of accountability.
Among the latest entrants are Heidelberg Materials, one of Germany’s largest building-materials producers; Steconfer, a Portuguese rail systems contractor; and Ineco, a Spanish transportation engineering firm. Well-known travel platforms such as Expedia, Booking.com, and Airbnb remain on the list, highlighting how settlement-linked activity spans across sectors and geographies.
The UN said that 215 business enterprises were assessed in this round of reviews, with seven companies removed from the blacklist. Hundreds more may come under evaluation in the future, suggesting that the database will continue to evolve as Israel presses ahead with settlement construction and as international scrutiny intensifies.
The database was established nearly a decade ago after a resolution from the UN’s main human rights body, intended to provide transparency and discourage companies from operating in ways that facilitate settlement expansion. Israel has long criticised the list as biased and politically motivated, arguing that it unfairly targets its economy and deters foreign investment.
The timing of the update is particularly significant. Several European states have in recent weeks recognised Palestinian statehood, citing Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza and expanding settlement projects as key reasons. The new blacklist could further isolate Israel diplomatically, adding pressure at a moment of heightened international debate over accountability.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reinforced the urgency of the matter at a high-level Security Council meeting, warning that the viability of a two-state solution is “steadily eroding” and now at its most critical juncture in more than a generation. He pointed to relentless settlement expansion, forced displacement of Palestinians, and what he described as “de facto annexation” as evidence of a deteriorating situation.
“Cycles of deadly violence, including by extremist settlers, have entrenched an unlawful Israeli occupation and pushed us perilously close to a point of no return,” Guterres said. He described Israel’s recent approval of settlement construction in the sensitive E1 corridor as particularly alarming, arguing that such a move would sever the West Bank and render the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state nearly impossible.
Guterres also warned against viewing settlements solely as a political issue, calling them “a flagrant violation of international law.” He urged member states to seize momentum created by the France–Saudi Arabia-led international conference on the two-state solution, which resumed this week and has drawn wider recognition of Palestinian statehood from governments across Europe and beyond.
“The ‘day after’ in Gaza must be anchored in international law, reject any form of ethnic cleansing, and provide a clear political horizon toward a viable two-state solution,” Guterres stressed. He appealed for urgent steps to reverse what he termed “dangerous trends on the ground,” citing settler violence and the looming threat of annexation as destabilising forces that could doom peace prospects.
The UN chief concluded with a pointed reminder that peace cannot be achieved through violence alone. “There are actions that the Security Council must take. There are responsibilities each member of this council must uphold. We cannot let this fragile moment slip away.”
The expansion of the blacklist, alongside Guterres’s stark warning, underscores a shifting international consensus: that continued settlement activity not only undermines Palestinian rights but also places the very foundations of a two-state solution in jeopardy.
