UN Human Rights Council, European Governments Launch Economic Warfare Against Israel

International opprobrium towards the presence of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank, is discernibly shifting from rhetorical condemnation to economic and legal warfare.

Three episodes reported during the last week illustrate the trend. On September 26, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued an updated version of its database — described by Israel as a “blacklist” — that identifies Israeli and international businesses allegedly “involved in certain activities in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.” On September 28 — less than a week after The Netherlands’s ban on the import of goods from these communities went into effect — passengers who arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on a flight from Tel Aviv were subjected to “intrusive” searches of their baggage by Dutch customs officers. On September 29, three weeks after the British government announced a ban joined by 11 other western states, passengers disembarking a flight from Tel Aviv to the United Kingdom’s Luton Airport similarly reported extra screening of their baggage by the UK Border Force.

In addition, at the beginning of September, Luxembourg’s financial authority confirmed that it would no longer approve the prospectuses required under EU law to enable the sale of Israel government bonds.

These developments demonstrate that the architecture of sanctions and other punitive measures traditionally aimed at the adversaries of western democracies are now being applied to the State of Israel. Moreover, because supply chains connecting Israel with Judea and Samaria are closely intertwined, tracing a product’s origin to one side of the Green Line is practically impossible, meaning that measures ostensibly designed to affect a narrow set of targets, negatively impact the Israeli economy as a whole.

UN Human Rights Council Expands Database ‘Blacklist’

Launched in 2016 under Resolution 31/36 of the UN’s Human Rights Council — which during its existence has passed 116 resolutions condemning Israel, 16 on Iran, and 13 on Russia — the database naming companies allegedly involved in activities connected to Israeli communities in the disputed territories has been significantly expanded, with 214 companies now included compared to 158 in 2025.

While the great majority of the companies listed in the database are Israeli, it also includes American and European businesses. Six U.S. companies — Airbnb Inc., Booking Holdings Inc., Expedia Group Inc., Motorola Solutions Inc., RE/MAX Holdings Inc., and TripAdvisor Inc. — have been present since 2020. Two more were added this month: the nonprofits Friends of Ir David and HaYovel.

European Measures Now Given Legal Teeth

The OHCHR database is designed to galvanize both governments and private businesses, but it does not have the force of law underpinning it. This is not the case with the three European countries, two of whom are EU members. In the Dutch case, the importation of goods from Judea and Samaria as well as the Golan Heights can result in custodial sentences of up to six years and fines of up to 1.1 million euros. Similarly draconian penalties could be imposed in the United Kingdom once it completes the implementation of its ban over the next six to nine months.

In the case of Luxembourg, while no legal penalties are envisaged, preventing the sale of Israel bonds sends the unmistakable signal that the EU is ready to take measures punishing Israel on both sides of the Green Line. This may well encourage EU states hostile to Israel, such as Ireland and Spain, to push for the suspension or revocation of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in force since 2000. 

The U.S. Must Protect American Companies Trading With Israel

The United States should act immediately to stymie economic warfare against Israel, particularly as it negatively impacts American companies, which conduct over $54 billion worth of trade with the Jewish state annually.

The Trump administration should tie the payment of $4 billion of arrears to the United Nations to a verifiable end to the OHCHR’s campaign of pressure against Israel. It should also seek to protect U.S. entities from exposure to the campaign, if necessary through reciprocal measures against participating UN entities and foreign governments.

Ben Cohen is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from the author and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Ben on X @BenCohenOpinion. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.