'158 firms linked to Israeli settlements'

The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.

UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel's policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.

While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list.

Contacted by AFP for their reaction, the companies have not so far responded.

While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.

The report, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), urged companies to "take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts" of their activities.