UN rapporteur says tech firms and corporations profiting from Israeli genocide
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese's call for action comes in a scathing new report in which she names over 60 companies, including major technology firms like Google, Amazon and Microsoft, alleging their involvement in what she calls "the transformation of Israel's economy of occupation to an economy of genocide".
"By shedding light on the political economy of an occupation turned genocidal, the report reveals how the forever-occupation has become the ideal testing ground for arms manufacturers and Big Tech . . . while investors and private and public institutions profit freely," Albanese writes in the report.
"Too many influential corporate entities remain inextricably financially bound to Israel's apartheid and militarism."
The detailed, 24-page report, which is set to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, identifies dozens of corporate actors, including those involved in the arms, technology, construction and energy sectors, which it says are complicit.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
They range from companies which the report says are destroying Palestinian life, including weapons companies Elbit Systems and Lockheed Martin, to heavy equipment manufacturers whose machinery is used in building illegal Israeli settlements, such as Caterpillar and HD Hyundai.
'Unique testing ground'
The report also focuses on the historic and current role of technology companies which it says have profitted from "the unique testing ground" of the occupied territories, highlighting how the repression of Palestinians has "become progressively automated".
In October 2023, when Israel's internal military cloud overloaded, Microsoft Azure and the Project Nimbus Consortium, run by Google and Amazon, "stepped in with critical cloud and AI infrastructure", the report says.
The report also focuses on AI systems that have been developed by the Israeli military to process and generate targets during the war on Gaza, pointing to the collaboration between Palantir Technology Inc and Israel which predates October 2023.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe Palantir has provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scaled-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision making," the report said.
Gulf states linked to Israeli businesses on UN settlements blacklist Read More »
It said 48 of the companies named have been "duly informed of the facts" that led Albanese to make her allegations, 15 of which responded directly to Albanese's office. Their replies were not published.
Middle East Eye is seeking comments from all of the companies named in this article.
But these companies are "just the tip of the iceberg", the report says, adding that Albanese's office has developed a database of 1,000 entities in total from submissions received in a call for input into the investigation.
The report also finds that since the start of the Israeli assault on Gaza, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has risen by 179 percent, adding $157.9bn in market value.
Israel's mission in Geneva told Reuters that the report was "legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office".
Albanese calls on UN member states to impose sanctions and full arms embargos on Israel, and suspend all trade agreements and investor relations on any inviduals or entities that endanger Palestinians.
She also says the International Criminal Court and national judiciaries should pursue investigations and prosecutions of corporate executives and entities for "their part in the commission of international crimes and laundering of the proceeds from those crimes".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Iran decries ‘destructive' conduct of IAEA chief
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Tehran halted cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog due to what he called the agency chief's 'destructive' behaviour towards the Islamic republic, his office said on Monday. 'The action taken by parliament members... is a natural response to the unjustified, unconstructive, and destructive conduct of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency,' Pezeshkian told Macron in a phone call late Sunday, according to a presidency statement. On Wednesday, Iranian lawmakers voted in favour of a bill to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, citing Israel's June 13 attack on the Islamic republic and later strikes by the United States on nuclear facilities. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took hold on June 24. Since the start of the war with Israel, Iranian officials have sharply criticised the agency for failing to condemn the strikes. Iran has also criticised the watchdog for passing a resolution on June 12 accusing it of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations. In a Sunday post on X, Macron said he called for 'respect for the ceasefire' and a return to negotiations to address 'ballistic and nuclear issues.' He further called for 'the swift resumption of the IAEA's work in Iran to ensure full transparency.' On Monday, France, Germany, and Britain condemned what they called 'threats' against the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi after Iran rejected its request to visit nuclear facilities bombed during the war. None specified which threats they were referring to, but Iran's ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper recently claimed documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed. Iran has said Grossi's request to visit bombed sites signalled 'malign intent' but insisted that no threats were posed against Grossi or the agency's inspectors. On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Iranian parliament's decision to halt cooperation with the IAEA reflected the 'concern and anger of the Iranian public opinion.' He further criticised the United States and European powers for maintaining what he described as a 'political approach' toward Iran's nuclear programme during his weekly press conference. Baqaei also questioned how the safety of IAEA inspectors could be ensured while the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear facilities -- targeted by Israel and the United States during the 12-day war -- remains unknown. 'One aspect of this issue is how to ensure the safety and security of the agency's inspectors, in a situation where there is still no accurate assessment of the severity of the damage,' he said. Iran's judiciary said at least 935 people were killed in the country during its 12-day war with Israel, state media reported Monday, nearly a week since a ceasefire took hold. Among the dead were 38 children and 132 women, the spokesperson, Asghar Jahangir, said. The death toll was a sharp increase from a previous Iranian health ministry tally of 610 killed in Iran before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday last week. Jahangir also revised the number of people killed in an Israeli strike on Tehran's Evin Prison to 79, up from 71. Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to Iran since the 1980s war with Iraq. Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel's 'act of aggression had led to many war crimes'. He said Iran would transfer evidence to international organisations which he said should hold Israel to account. 'The Zionist regime's (Israel) action was done without any reason or justification, therefore we do not believe in separating military and civilian (victims),' Baghaei told reporters at a regular press briefing. He said any 'martyr or destroyed building is an example of war crimes.' Agencies
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Eight people killed by Israeli soldiers while seeking aid
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, the latest in a series of daily deadly attacks on those seeking food since the specially created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over food distribution on 27 May. One person was killed and 50 wounded when tanks and drones opened fire as crowds were waiting to collect aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the centre of the Gaza Strip, Bassal said. The civil defence said another six people were killed nearby while trying to reach the same aid centre. Asked for comment, the Israeli military told AFP its forces "fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops", adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incident. At least one more person was killed near another aid centre in Rafah, the civil defence said. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers. A group of 169 aid organisations called on Monday for an end to Gaza's "deadly" new US-and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme, which they said forced starving civilians to "trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race" for food. They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed before Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza on 2 March. Israeli soldiers and army officials told Haaretz newspaper that they had targeted Palestinian civilians who had come seeking aid from GHF.
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel intensifies its military campaign ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with Trump
Israel's military said on Tuesday that it had expanded its operations in Gaza days ahead of a planned trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 7 July, AFP reported. The intensified operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, and a month after Hamas submitted a ceasefire deal to Israel. Al Jazeera reported on Monday. Hamas had not heard anything back from Israel or the US on their proposed deal during this time. In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities". Separately, it said on Tuesday morning that in recent days it had "expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists, and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground". Raafat Halles, 39, from the Shujaiya district of Gaza City, said "air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week"and tanks have been advancing. "I believe that every time negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground," he said. "I don't know why." Amer Daloul, a 44-year-old resident of Gaza City, also reported fiercer fighting between Israeli forces and fighters in recent days, telling AFP that he and his family were forced to flee the tent they were living in at dawn on Tuesday "due to heavy and random gunfire and shelling". In the southern city of Rafah, resident Mohammed Abdel Aal, 41, said "tanks are present" in most parts of town.
