Israeli Companies Leaving West Bank in Apparent Response to Boycott Pressure
Source: Haaretz
A soon-to-be-released report by peace group obtained by Haaretz suggests that international pressure may have affected companies' decisions to move within the Green Line.
Responding to international boycott pressures and other constraints, a growing number of Israeli companies operating in the West Bank are moving their facilities to locations within the country’s internationally recognized borders, according to a report prepared by Gush Shalom, an anti-occupation organization that monitors such activities.
The report, obtained by Haaretz, shows that aside from the recent high-profile cases of Ahava, the Dead Sea skin care product company, and SodaStream, the seltzer-machine manufacturer, other prominent Israeli companies have also been part of this trend, even if they have managed to evade publicity.
The last time Gush Shalom compiled a list of companies operating in the West Bank was 20 years ago. Roughly 20 to 30 percent of the companies that appeared on that original list are no longer there, according to Adam Keller, a spokesman for the organization. Some have shut down completely and others have relocated.
“This is a very rough estimate,” he said, “and clearly there are other businesses that have sprouted up in their place, but when it comes to big companies that export their goods and are interested in building international connections, the trend is very clear. There has been a sharp decline in their number.”
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