A new report shows that many European banks and investors continue to provide money to companies involved in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. These companies, 104 in total, have links to the building or maintenance of illegal settlements, supplying weaponry or surveillance tech, or helping enable destruction of Palestinian homes.

The Scale of Funding

As of August 2025, European financial institutions held over USD 1,503 billion in shares and bonds in companies active in what the report calls “occupation, apartheid and genocide” in Palestine.

Between January 2023 and August 2025, they also provided over USD 310 billion in loans and underwriting to those companies.

In total, more than 1,115 European financial institutions were found to be financially tied to these 104 companies.

What the Companies Do — Why This Matters

According to the report:

• Some companies sell, transfer, or divert weapons to Israel.
  
• Others provide information or communication technologies used for surveillance and targeting of Palestinians.
  
• Yet others supply materials, services, or infrastructure that help build or maintain illegal settlements, or enable the destruction of Palestinian homes, property, and livelihoods.

Because of these connections, the report argues that investing in these companies effectively supports and enables violations of international law.

Why This Is Significant Now

The report expands its scope beyond just settlement-related businesses. It also examines firms linked to broader alleged violations by Israel, including acts that may constitute genocide, especially after a landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024. The ICJ declared Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful, and called on third-party states and actors to cut trade or investment that supports the occupation.

That means investors may now face greater legal and ethical pressure to reconsider their ties.

Who’s Behind the Money Flow (Examples of Banks and Investors)

Among the big European financiers named repeatedly are (but are not limited to):

• BNP Paribas (France)
  
  
• HSBC (UK)
  
  
• Deutsche Bank (Germany)
  
  
• Société Générale (France)
  
  
• Barclays (UK)
  
  

Institutional investors holding large portfolios in implicated companies include Government Pension Fund Global (Norway), Crédit Agricole (France), and Nordea (Finland), among others.

What Advocates Are Saying — The Call for Disengagement

The report underscores that continued funding from European institutions gives “economic oxygen” to companies supporting or enabling the occupation and alleged atrocities.

It urges banks, asset-managers, insurers, pension funds and other investors to:

• Conduct thorough human-rights due diligence before investing in or lending to companies linked to illegal occupation or human rights abuses.
  
• Divest from firms involved in Israeli settlement activities, occupation, or supply of weapons/surveillance tools.
  
• Ensure compliance with international law, especially in light of rulings from bodies such as the ICJ.
  

Why This Should Matter to Ordinary People

When big European banks continue to finance companies tied to such activities, it means ordinary citizens using those banks, even indirectly, might be complicit in funding human rights violations or war crimes.

It also reveals how global finance is deeply entangled with geopolitics and human rights. What seems like a routine investment decision can have far-reaching consequences on real lives, homes destroyed, livelihoods lost, entire communities displaced.

If European institutions heed calls to divest and enforce human-rights checks, it could shift the financial dynamics that allow illegal occupation to persist. That, in turn, might pressure companies to withdraw from harmful operations and encourage more responsible investment globally.