For years, we have been researching how financial institutions invest in companies involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. We do this as part of the Don’t Buy Into Occupation-coalition. This year, the coalition expanded its research. In addition to illegal settlements, we also investigated broader involvement in occupation and genocide. The number of institutions and companies involved has grown as a result. Therefore, the results cannot be compared one-to-one with the figures from previous years. ‘The complicity of private actors can no longer be assessed solely through the lens of occupation,’ says UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in the preface, ‘It must encompass their role in enabling and profiting from the illegal situation as a whole, considering also that it has metastasized into genocide.’
Small steps
We see a number of entities taking small steps in the right direction, but billions are still being invested in companies that contribute to occupation and apartheid, such as Booking.com and Caterpillar. You can read about which other parties are involved in the full report. Nevertheless, something is slowly changing in the financial world. Some institutions are trying to be less involved with human rights violations. For example, the largest pension funds in the Netherlands, such as ABP and PFZW, have sold their shares in Caterpillar. This American company supplies bulldozers that are often used to demolish Palestinian homes. There are also fewer Dutch investments in websites such as Booking.com and Airbnb, and the company TKH Security no longer works with an Israeli seller of its security cameras. This is good, but it is not enough.
Deliveries to the Israeli army
Financial institutions are still investing huge sums in companies that enable the occupation and/or genocide in Gaza. These investments take the form of loans and investments. Money from Dutch banks and insurance companies is flowing to companies that manufacture weapons, computer systems or fuel for fighter jets, for example, and also supply the Israeli army. The same goes for manufacturers of heavy machinery used to destroy Palestinian homes and roads. ING, for example, still has loans to Caterpillar, and insurers such as Achmea and ASR still have shares in this company1. In addition, investments are being made in companies that are active in the economy of the occupation, such as tourism in illegal settlements or the extraction of raw materials from occupied territory.
Complicit in very serious crimes
These cash flows are becoming increasingly difficult to explain, especially in light of recent statements by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations (UN). Last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is illegal and must end as soon as possible. The UN also warned companies that they could be punished if they help to perpetuate the occupation. The situation is now even more serious, because in September 2025, an official UN commission of inquiry confirmed that Israel is committing genocide. As a result, arms manufacturers and tech companies, for example, run a high risk of being complicit in very serious crimes. The largest Dutch investments are in tech companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, both of which have supplied important tech systems to the Israeli army.
‘It is unimaginable that Dutch savings and pension funds are still being used to finance companies whose activities contribute to the horrific situation in Gaza and the West Bank,’ says our Israel-Palestine expert Thomas van Gool, ‘Financial institutions must draw a crystal clear conclusion from the findings of the International Court of Justice, the UN and countless human rights organisations: sever all financial ties with companies whose products or services perpetuate the illegal occupation or even genocide.’
Note 1: Amounts are mentioned. These are always the total amounts that a bank, insurer or pension fund invests in the companies. These are not amounts that are specifically invested in the illegally occupied territories. For example, a bank lends money to a company that manufactures bulldozers. The company can use the loan for general purposes. The company operates worldwide, but also supplies Israel. We then include the loan in our report. In line with international guidelines from the UN and the OECD on business and human rights, the bank has a responsibility to take action.
The figures in previous editions of this report have been used to support the claim that these financial institutions are financing genocide. We do not say that. The State of Israel is committing genocide; companies contribute in various ways to the economic and political system that makes this (and the illegal occupation) possible. Financial institutions that invest in these companies have an urgent responsibility to take action. We support any peaceful action that calls for this.
