Exploitation of Natural Resources

This section of Investigate includes companies involved in the pillage of natural resources in occupied Palestinian territories and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Business activities in this sector involves mainly the extractive and waste industries:

  • Extractive companies that drill for water, oil, or natural gas.
  • Companies that own, operate, or mine in quarries.
  • Waste management companies that own or operate landfills, sewage treatment plants, and other facilities that pollute the land and groundwater.
  • Solar energy companies that operate solar fields on occupied lands.

Companies involved in the exploitation of occupied land for the purpose of building residential projects in illegal settlements are addressed separately in the Settlement Enterprise section.

Since 1967 Israel has been treating the natural resources of these lands as its own. Shortly after the end of the 1967 war, Israel seized control of all water resources in the newly occupied territories. According to B’Tselem, Israel has used the water "as it sees fit, ignoring the needs of Palestinians in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, to such an extent that the two areas suffer a severe water shortage.” Israel has been Land has been confiscated piecemeal for the building of settlements in a process that continues today.

In the early 1970s, the Israeli government started permitting companies to mine for natural resources in the West Bank. According to Who Profits, as of 2016 there are eleven Israeli quarries operating in the West Bank, extracting rock, gravel, and aggregates. These quarries produce millions of tons of construction material annually, the majority of which are transported outside the West Bank to be used in Israeli construction projects. Who Profits also reports that, as of 2017, there are six settlement waste management companies operating in the occupied West Bank, taking advantage of the occupation’s lax environmental regulations in the area while polluting Palestinian land and water resources. In addition, over the years Israel has granted special permits to specific companies, giving them exclusive rights to conduct activities such as exploratory oil and gas drilling, excavating minerals from the dead sea area, and the like.

According to international human rights law, all peoples have “permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources.” This principle was codified in the 1966 International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), both declare that “all peoples have the right of self-determination,” and that this includes the right “to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources.”

The case of military occupations is governed by the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. While they allow the occupying power to use the natural resources of the occupied territory, they impose strict conditions. Specifically, it is generally illegal for an occupying power to exploit the natural resources of occupied people for its own domestic purposes. Also, the occupier “must safeguard the capital of these properties,” and therefore must not deplete or alter them in a way that would prevent their future use. Private property may not be confiscated unless there is an imperative military necessity. In addition, pillage by occupying forces is strictly forbidden under all circumstances and is considered a war crime.

With specific regard to the Israeli occupation, the UN General Assembly resolved as early as 1973 that all the measures Israel undertook “to exploit the human and natural resources of the occupied Arab territories” it had occupied since 1967 are illegal. This principle was reaffirmed multiple times. In 2016, UN Human Rights Council Resolution 31/36 called on companies “to avoid contributing to the establishment or maintenance of Israeli settlements or the exploitation of natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Related databases and resources

The list of companies involved in this sector
Select private companies are listed below publicly-traded companies.
(!) symbol means this company is on our divestment list
Publicly-Traded Companies
Switzerland

A Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation that manufactures robotics, electrification equipment, and automation technology. Its equipment has been used at solar energy fields in the occupied West Bank.

An Israeli investment firm. Its subsidiary Energix Renewable Energy has projects in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights. Its subsidiary Amot Investments owns an industrial building in the occupied West Bank.

One of Israel's largest construction and real estate companies. It has constructed housing units and large-scale infrastructure in illegal Israeli settlements, as well as parts of Israel's separation wall. It also operates a quarry and concrete plant in the occupied West Bank.

An Israeli company operating in the agriculture, retail, financial services, and real estate sectors. Its subsidiaries provide services to and operate facilities in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories.

One of the world's largest oil and gas companies. Its subsidiary Noble Energy extracts gas off the shores of the Gaza Strip, exacerbating the Gaza blockade and potentially involved in pillaging.

An Israeli renewable energy company. Owns a solar farm in an illegal settlement industrial zone in the occupied West Bank. Developed a wind farm project in the occupied Golan Heights.

An Israeli renewable energy company that develops, constructs, and operates solar and wind power plants in the occupied Golan Heights as well as the Negev.

A US-based manufacturer of solar energy systems. Provides solar panels for a solar farm in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

A Chinese multinational conglomerate that owns AHAVA, which excavates minerals in the occupied West Bank and operates a processing center and visitor center in an illegal Israeli settlement, despite moving its factory outside of the occupied Palestinian territory.

One of the world's largest weapons companies. It manufactures engines for multiple weapon systems that are routinely used in war crimes against Palestinian civilians and infrastructure for a power plant in the occupied Syrian Golan.

A US multinational oil & gas company. Extracts oil in the occupied Golan Heights.

The world's largest cement producer and a leader in the production of aggregates. Operates quarries and manufacturing facilities in the occupied West Bank. Its products have been used to build and expand illegal settlements.

A Chinese manufacturer of solar energy systems. Provides solar panels for a solar farm in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

A US-based multinational minerals company. Its products are used in the construction of a water system for illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israel

An Israeli infrastructure company that operates a wind energy project in the occupied Golan Heights and has provided communication infrastructure to the Israeli military.

An Israeli development and engineering firm. Operates a quarry and factory in the occupied West Bank and involved in illegal settlement construction.

A US-based multinational water company. Its Israeli subsidiary Eden Springs extracts water from the occupied Golan Heights and is headquartered in an illegal settlement there.

An Israeli construction and infrastructure firm. Operates a quarry and concrete plant in the occupied West Bank and involved in several development projects in illegal settlements there.

A Chinese solar energy company. Its solar panels are used in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.

Belgium

A Belgian multinational chemical company whose products were used in the construction of a water system for illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

An Israeli solar energy company with projects in the occupied West Bank.