Major Israeli construction company pulls out of settlement industry

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday morning that Africa Israel Investments, an international holding and investment company based in Israel, will no longer build homes in the West Bank or East Jerusalem. This, after years that Africa Israel’s daughter company, Danya Cebus, has consistently built homes in settlements, contrary to international law.

There is no mistaking this decision. Lev Leviev, one of the most prominent tycoons in Israel, did not wake up one morning and understand, by chance, that the occupation is a terrible injustice toward millions of subjects who lack basic rights and who have been under our military rule for nearly 50 years. No. It took years. Years in which Leviev discovered that he could not continue building in the settlements while enjoying legitimacy in the international business world.

Settlement of Halamish, next to Nabi Saleh (Activestills)
Settlement of Halamish, next to Nabi Saleh (Activestills)

The opposition took the form of protests, pressure on the British government to cut business ties with Leviev, and divestment from his company. Between the profit he could make off the occupation and the profit he could lose in the rest of the world, Leviev chose the world.

This is another huge victory for the boycott movement and the activists who choose to fight against the occupation nonviolently. This is a victory for those who want to tell Israelis that even if the occupation is currently profitable, things can easily change. Africa Israel’s decision won’t stop the settlement enterprise, and its impact will likely be marginal. However, the message continues to permeate.

Related:
Figures show: Peace talks and settlement construction go hand in hand
What ‘painful concessions’ are left for Palestinians to make?

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