Interview
Francesca Albanese: ‘The occupation economy has turned into a genocide economy’
‘Companies such as Airbnb and Booking.com can be subject to boycotts. The same applies to Volvo, whose vehicles are being used to demolish houses and remove Palestinian bodies from the rubble in Gaza or to move Palestinian political prisoners.’
“I always say: if Palestine were a crime scene, it would have all of our fingerprints on it. The products we buy, the banks we entrust our savings to, the universities we pay tuition fees to.”
This is how Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, explains the scope of her latest report, which accuses around a thousand companies around the world of complicity in Israeli crimes.
What led you to putting together this report?
I started thinking about it in 2023, after reading about how many companies were participating in the occupation, the misappropriation of natural resources, and the banking system supporting the settlements. But it's not just that: there is an underground economy that supports not only the settlements, but also the Israeli military and technological system. The research led to the identification of the involvement by the private sector, a series of companies that continue to profit. While the Israeli economy appears to be in crisis, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is seeing tens of billions of dollars in growth. Putting the pieces together, I realized that there is an occupation economy that has turned into a genocide economy.
You write that colonial powers have always relied on these kinds of relationships to maintain themselves. Without the contribution of companies and corporations, would the occupation machine come to a halt?
Yes. Without the companies that sell weapons, Israel cannot keep the Palestinians in check and cannot continue to profit from the improvement and sale of weapons. The development of weapons and technologies would come to a halt without the cooperation and legitimacy provided by universities and research centers, such as Italy’s National Research Council (CNR), which has a number of partnerships with the agribusiness industry, for example. It all wouldn’t work without European funds given to Israeli companies.
The report clearly states that these companies can be held responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Historically, private companies have tried to dodge legal obligations by becoming very influential in the process of establishing these obligations and responsibilities. Let us recall how influential the arms lobby is in creating laws and regulations. At the same time, though, there are principles that require due diligence. In this case, there are proceedings against Israel begun at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Although no judgment has yet been reached, the two courts have given warning about the presumption of risk, which would require not supporting the state under investigation. If stats must abide by this obligation, it should also apply to companies whose actions directly harm human rights. Certain companies are taking part in the commission of crimes: the cement company that extracts natural resources from mines in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the companies that sell lethal weapons, those that supply bulldozers used for demolitions in the Occupied Territories, and so on. It’s not just a link – it is complicity in the commission of crimes aimed at violating the right to self-determination, making annexation a reality and supporting permanent occupation.
The report mentions Leonardo. Are there other Italian companies among the thousand companies under investigation?
There are Italian companies and universities, but they are still under investigation.
The complicity of the private sector allows the colonial settlement project and thus the apartheid regime to continue. This is happening because that system of oppression is convenient; it generates profit. How can it be made inconvenient?
The most immediate and just method is to prosecute this injustice. Companies such as Israel's Elbit or Italy's Leonardo must be taken to court, not least so that reparations can be made to the victims. The second method is the responsibility imposed by public opinion. Companies such as Airbnb and Booking.com can be subject to boycotts. The same applies to Volvo, whose vehicles are being used to demolish houses and remove Palestinian bodies from the rubble in Gaza or to move Palestinian political prisoners. We must return to a system of legality. My appeal is first and foremost a call for legality, based on one fundamental point: let’s do away with the mental construct that there is a “good Israel” within the borders of the state and a “bad Israel” in the Occupied Territories. Colonization is a state enterprise, apartheid is a state crime, genocide is a state crime. It is no longer enough to divest from the settlements alone.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/senza-compagnie-private-la-macchina-delloccupazione-si-fermerebbe-intervista-a-francesca-albanese on 2025-07-02