Shipping giant Maersk cuts ties with companies operating in Israeli settlements
Shipping giant Maersk is divesting from companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The decision, announced on Monday, comes after months of sustained pressure from pro-Palestine activists who have demanded the behemoth shipping and logistics company cut ties with companies profiting from Israel's occupation of Palestine.
In its statement, Maersk said that following a review of its operations in the occupied West Bank, it had decided to follow the guidelines of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which maps out the names of companies operating in the settlements where around 500,000 Israelis live in contravention of international law.
"Following a recent review of transports related to the West Bank, we further strengthened our screening procedures in relation to Israeli settlements, including aligning our screening process with the OHCHR database of enterprises involved in activities in the settlements," the company said.
The OHCHR, mandated to compile a list of businesses that both operate and sustain the settlements in the occupied West Bank, released a database in 2020 naming more than 100 companies contributing to human rights abuses of Palestinians.
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The list was amended in 2023.
'World is watching'
Activists who have been championing the call for Maersk to stop working with Israel welcomed the development.
However, they say the company now needs to halt the transportation of military equipment to Israel, including essential parts of its F-35 fighter planes, which have been used to flatten Gaza.
Activists claim that Maersk has played a fundamental role in servicing the Israeli army over the past 20 months in particular.
More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now qualify as an act of genocide.
"Maersk continues to profit from the genocide of our people – regularly shipping F-35 components used to bomb and massacre Palestinians," Aisha Nizar, with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), said in a statement.
"We will continue to build pressure and mobilise people power until Maersk cuts all ties to genocide and ends the transport of weapons and weapons components to Israel," Nizar added.
Nizar said Maersk's decision to stop working with companies in the settlements sent a clear message to the global shipping industry that compliance with international law and basic human rights was not optional.
"Doing business with Israel's illegal settlements is no longer viable, and the world is watching to see who follows next," Nizar added.
Over the past year, Maersk has come under intense scrutiny by human rights groups in Denmark, where it is headquartered, and from other parts of the globe for continuing to transport military components to Israel.
They are demanding the company "cut ties with genocide".
In February, close to 1,000 activists protested at its headquarters in Copenhagen. Protests have also taken place in New York and Morocco.
In March, Maersk was also added to the official Boycott Divestment and Sanction (BDS) list.
Maersk did not immediately reply to Middle East Eye's request for comment.
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