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Article

14 Sep 2017

Author:
Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada

German firm whitewashes its plunder of Palestinian resources

HeidelbergCement is trying to present its theft of Palestinian natural resources under the cover of Israeli military occupation as a force for good. For a decade, the German company has operated without permission of the Palestinians a quarry on land stolen from the village of al-Zawyia, in the occupied West Bank...Companies like HeidelbergCement that extract natural resources through Israeli licensing may be engaging in the war crime of pillage, according to [human rights group] Al-Haq. The Palestinian people’s right to self-determination includes permanent sovereignty over natural resources, even under occupation, the group states...Human Rights Watch highlighted HeidelbergCement and other Israeli and internationally operated quarries in a 2016 report on corporate complicity in Israeli occupation and settlements. “These businesses sell nearly all of the quarried stone in the Israeli or settlement markets,” Human Rights Watch said. “This is in violation of international humanitarian law which requires that such natural resources should only be used for the benefit of the (Palestinian) population of the occupied territory...” [also refers to ABP and PFZW].

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