British News Agency

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said it welcomed the annual update by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the database of companies and organizations engaged in activities linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a statement, the ministry said the update added 61 more companies to the database, bringing the total number of listed entities to 214.

The statement argued that the update was a step toward strengthening accountability, ending impunity and addressing the economic and financial networks said to sustain Israeli settlement activities.

All states were urged to use available legal, political and diplomatic tools to prevent entities under their jurisdiction from contributing to settlement activities or benefiting from them.

The statement also called on companies and financial and economic entities involved in these activities to immediately end and withdraw from any relationships that support them.

It was stated that the Palestinian administration would continue its diplomatic and legal efforts to advance accountability, defend the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent and sovereign State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.