Profitable genocide: Report exposes “economy of destruction” supported by multinationals

In a report released on Monday (1st) and entitled “From the economy of occupation to the economy of genocide”, the UN special rapporteur to Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, reveals the direct involvement of multinational weapons, technology, construction, energy and finance companies in the system of apartheid and in the genocidal attacks conducted by Israel in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The document will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday (4) and brings documentary, legal and journalistic evidence that demonstrates how dozens of companies-names known as Lockheed Martin (USA), Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Caterpillar (all US), Carrefour and Airbnb-profit from the destruction of Palestine.

“The complicity exposed in the report is just the tip of the iceberg. This will not end without holding the private sector, including its executives,” warns Albanese.

Weapons, Technology and Infrastructure: the pillars of a “genocide machine”

The 39 -page report describes the operation of a global corporate gear that supports the colonial regime, the apartheid and genocide. Albanese details the performance of arms companies, such as Lockheed Martinwhich provides the F-35 and F-36 fighters responsible for the release of 85,000 tons of Gaza pumps.

Other companies mentioned include:

• Elbit Systems (Israel) e Israel Aerospace Industries: They produce drones and hexacopters used in air attacks in densely populated civil areas.
• Google, Amazon e Microsoft: Provide surveillance technologies, data analysis and cloud services used in drone murders and digital repression.
• Caterpillar (USA) and Heidelberg Materials (Germany): Provide tractors and cement for the demolition of Palestinian houses and construction of illegal settlements.

“These companies are not mere spectators. They are active partners in the repression and systematic displacement of Palestinians,” says Albanse.

Examples still include retailers Benetton Group (Italy), Carrefour (France), the manufacturers Airbus (France), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Israel), agricultural Netafim (Israel) and Pepsico.

Supermarkets, banks and applications: the normalization of the apartheid

The web of corporate involvement goes beyond the war industry. Albanese highlights the complicity of retail networks like Carrefour, lodging platforms as Booking.com e Airbnband commercial banks like BNP Paribas e Barclayswhich subscribed to Israel’s Treasury titles, directly financing the increase in the military budget.

The report also points to the action of investment funds, as BlackRock (US $ 68 million), Vanguard (US $ 546 million) and PIMCO (US $ 960 million).

These funds funded Israeli companies or bought Israeli public debt, even after the orders of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which warned of the explicit risk of genocide.

Universities and European Union are also cited

According to Albanese, academic institutions – like the WITH and universities linked to the European Commission Horizonte Europa program – feed the war machine by developing technologies, ideologies and partnerships with the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

MIT, for example, cooperates in the development of drone swarms, one of the most used technologies in the attacks on Gaza since October 2023. The rapporteur accuses these institutions of “intellectually supporting” the colonial project and ignoring the systemic violence it generates.

Energy and Mining: Environmental expropriation and profits with collapse

In the energy sector, companies like Chevron, British Petroleum, NewMed Energy, Glencore and even Petrobras They were mentioned for their connections with the extraction of resources in occupied territories and the supply of energy used to maintain the infrastructure of illegal settlements. Petrobras is mentioned by raw oil remittances extracted from Brazilian fields, in which the state owns the largest appearances, and military aviation fuel, which helps supply two refineries in Israel.

Albanese accuses these corporations of “economic and environmental collective punishment” by collaborating with the blockade and collapse of basic life systems in Gaza.

Legal consequences: profit can become a crime

The report not only denounces: it proposes concrete actions. Albanese invokes international principles of business responsibility, requiring:

• Immediate breakup of commercial ties with companies involved;

• Compensations to Palestinians for human and material losses;

• Legal accountability of corporate executives for complicity in genocide.

According to the rapporteur, the UN guiding principles on companies and human rights, the convention for the prevention of genocide and the orders of the International Criminal Court make clear: “business as always is a crime” in the face of such explicit signs of genocide.

Reactions: Boicotes, Diplomatic Pressure and Student Movements

Movements such as BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) have already started boycott campaigns to companies mentioned in the report. European universities, such as those of London and Edinburgh, began to review their investments and agreements with Israeli institutions.

“The boycott is not only morally fair, it is a legal obligation,” argues Albanese. “The world needs to choose: justice or profit”

The report will be debated on Thursday (4) at the UN Human Rights Council, in a public session and broadcast live. In it, Francesca Albanese leaves an uncomfortable question to states, companies and citizens:

“Is the world willing to finance a people’s genocide for more profit?

Meanwhile, millions of Palestinians continue to live under bombing, siege, hunger and forced displacement – and the companies mentioned continue to account for record profits.