A Mexican building materials company that has provided concrete for numerous illegal Israeli construction projects in the occupied Palestinian territory and that operates production plants there, despite having formally sold them.
Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., headquartered in Mexico, is one of the world's largest suppliers of cement and ready-mix concrete. Its Israeli subsidiary, Readymix Industries (Israel) Ltd, has provided concrete for the construction of multiple projects in the occupied West Bank, including Israel's illegal separation wall and military checkpoints and infrastructure projects in illegal Israeli settlements, according to Who Profits.
The company has long faced criticism from investors and activist groups over its manufacturing facilities in the occupied Palestinian territory. In 2021, Cemex sold its last two plants operating in the occupied Palestinian territory. The plants, in the Atarot and Mishor Adumim illegal settlement industrial zones in the occupied West Bank, were acquired by privately held Israeli company Future Concrete Ltd.
Following the sale, Cemex maintains that it no longer has production facilities in the occupied West Bank. However, according to the company's CEO, the sale only included the property and facilities, while the operations are still handled by Cemex subsidiary Readymix.
The company previously owned two other plants in occupied territories: in Mevo Horon and Katzrin, two illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.
In 2015, Cemex similarly dropped its mining activities in the West Bank, when it divested itself of its 50% stake in the Yatir quarry in the occupied West Bank. That sale followed the decision by several Norwegian and Swedish institutional investors to exclude Cemex from their portfolios because of these activities. The company conducted a human rights risk assessment and announced a new policy of not supplying construction materials to Israel's "illegal settlements."
The company, however, adopted Israel's legal definition of what counts as a "legal" settlement, contrary to international consensus.
- On April 12, 2016, the University of Chicago's College Council passed a resolution calling on the school to divest from 10 companies, including CEMEX, that enable Israeli human rights abuses in Palestine.
- In June 2015 KLP, the largest life insurance company in Norway, decided to divest from Cemex because the company's "operations are associated with violations of fundamental ethical norms."
- Students at UC Los Angeles passed a resolution to divest from Cemex in November 2014, protesting its role “in illegal West Bank settlements.”
- UC Riverside’s student senate passed a resolution in 2014 urging the university to divest from Cemex, which “illegally owns and operates manufacturing plants in West Bank settlements, exploiting Palestinian natural resources in violation of international law.”
- Nordea Bank excluded Cemex in 2013, citing its “extraction of Palestinian natural resources.”
- In November of 2012, UC Irvine’s student senate voted unanimously to divest from Cemex, stating that the company “illegally owns and operates manufacturing plants in West Bank settlements, exploiting Palestinian natural resources in violation of international law.”