UK economic links with Israeli settlements

A total of 27 Israeli companies operating in settlements and exporting to the United Kingdom have been identified:



Fruit, vegetables and fresh herbs: Agrexco, Arava, Flowers Direct, Hadiklaim, Mehadrin Tnuport Export
Other food products: Abady Bakery, Achdut, Adumim Food Additives/Frutarom, Amnon & Tamar, Oppenheimer, Shamir Salads
Beverages: Adanim Tea, Soda-Club, Tishbi Estate Winery
Cosmetics: Dead Sea Laboratories, Intercosma
Pharmaceuticals: Fermentek
Plastic products: Keter Plastic, Tip Top Toys, Twitoplast
Metal products: DiSTeK, Mul-T-Lock, Yardeni Locks
Textile products: Caesarea Carpets, Dispobud, Ofertex
Other products: Greenkote

For 25 of these 27 companies a total of 51 British trading partners were found: 12 British marketing subsidiaries of the Israeli companies concerned and 39 British importers and retailers. Fruit and vegetables exported by these settlement companies are sold by major UK high street retailers, such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Somerfield. Other products exported by settlement companies are sold by well-known British retail chains, such as Marks & Spencer (M&S), John Lewis and B&Q.

The following British companies sell products from more than one Israeli company linked to the Israeli settlements in the West Bank:


Just Kosher is linked to six companies: Abadi Bakery, Achdut, Adanim Tea, Amnon & Tamar, Oppenheimer, Shamir Salads.
Tesco is linked to four companies: Arava, Hadiklaim, Mehadrin-Tnuport, Soda-Club.
Sainsbury's is linked to two companies: Hadiklaim, Soda-Club.
John Lewis (including its supermarket division Waitrose) is linked to two companies: Ahava, Hadiklaim
Argos is linked to two companies: Keter Plastic, Soda-Club.

Three British companies with investments in settlements in territories occupied by Israel have been identified:


Hanson UK is a supplier of heavy building materials to the construction industry. It has a subsidiary in Israel which owns factories and quarries in the West Bank. Hanson UK was acquired in September 2007 by German company Heidelberg Cement.
British Israel Investment is an Israeli property company owning a shopping mall in Maaleh Adumim, a settlement in the occupied West Bank. The major shareholder of British Israel Investment is the British businessman Leo Noe, the executive chairman of F&C REIT Asset Management.
Unilever is a major Anglo-Dutch food, detergent and personal care company which owns a 51 percent share in Beigel & Beigel, a pretzel and snacks factory located in a settlement in the occupied West Bank. Unilever recently announced that it will sell its stake in Beigel & Beigel.


One British company offering products or services to Israeli settlements has been identified:


Power tools from British manufacturer Record Power are imported from the United Kingdom to Israel by Israeli company D.N.M. Technical Equipment and Tools, which has a branch located in the Barkan Industrial Zone, in the West Bank.
The British bank HSBC is involved as underwriter in financing the Israeli state budget by helping the Israeli government to issue bonds on the international capital markets. On its own there is nothing wrong with this; it is only where such funds are used to support prohibited activities, such as the establishment of settlements in occupied territory and their associated infrastructure in breach of Israel's obligations under international law, would this raise concerns.

In addition, we found nine British financial institutions owning bonds issued by the State of Israel, which are used to fund activities undertaken by the government of Israel. Again, it is only where such activities are in breach of international law that this becomes a cause for concern:


Artemis Investment Management
Ashmore Investment Management
Barclays Global Investors
Capital International Ltd, part of Capital Group (United States)
Fortis Investments (United Kingdom), part of Fortis (Belgium)
Investec Asset Management
Morley Fund Management
Pictet Asset Management (UK) Ltd, part of Pictet (Switzerland)
State Street Global Advisors UK Ltd, part of State Street Corporation (United States)


Two large Israeli banks, Bank Leumi and the Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, have subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. These two banks also have branches in settlements in the occupied territories. Their Israeli parent banks engage in mortgage and other lending activities that include financing the construction and acquisition of settlement housing and commercial properties and lending to settlement-based Israeli businesses. Bank Leumi is also a lender to the Jerusalem light rail project which links settlements in the occupied West Bank with Israel proper and thus consolidates the existence of these settlements.

The British investment company CSS was involved in several financing rounds for Greenkote, an Israeli company exporting coating with a plant and main R&D centre located in the Barkan Industrial Zone.