COPENHAGEN, June 23 — Global shipping giant Maersk has announced it will sever ties with companies linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, following sustained international pressure and a high-profile activist campaign, reported by Al Jazeera News.
The decision comes in response to months of scrutiny by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), which targeted Maersk’s involvement in transporting U.S. military goods and goods tied to illegal settlements. In a statement published this month, Maersk said it had strengthened its screening process, aligning it with a United Nations human rights database that identifies firms complicit in settlement activities.
“Following a recent review of transports related to the West Bank, we further strengthened our screening procedures,” the company stated, referring to the UN OHCHR database of enterprises connected to the settlements.
Israel’s settlements in the West Bank—home to more than 500,000 settlers—are considered illegal under international law, yet they continue to expand, often with logistical and corporate support from foreign entities.
Activists welcomed the move but pressed for deeper accountability. “This sends a clear message: profiting from human rights violations is no longer tenable,” said PYM spokesperson Aisha Nizar. However, she criticized Maersk for continuing to transport components used in Israel’s F-35 fighter jets.
“Maersk is still complicit,” Nizar said. “We won’t stop until they cut all ties to weapons shipments fueling the genocide of Palestinians.”
Maersk responded by reaffirming its policy against shipping weapons to active conflict zones, though it confirmed its U.S. subsidiary participates in the global F-35 supply chain.
Earlier this year, Spain barred Maersk ships carrying military cargo to Israel from docking at its ports. Meanwhile, a Dutch court ruling against F-35 exports to Israel has done little to stop shipments through the port of Rotterdam—another key link in what activists call a “supply chain of death.”
