LONDON: A new report has revealed that US e-commerce platform Etsy is doing business with dozens of shops located in illegal Israeli settlements.
A report jointly released by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change, Global Justice Now and War on Want, identified at least 44 Etsy shops operating in 16 different communities that were deemed illegal by the United Nations and international law in July.
“Etsy not only ignores the merchants listed on its website that operate in illegal Israeli industrial estates, but it also directly profits from and in some cases even promotes these merchants,” said Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now.
“Such actions risk complicity in war crimes, and the truth is that they are not the only companies profiting from the human suffering that Palestinians face every day. It is time to end this shameless corporate profiteering.”
Most of the identifiable shops are located in the West Bank, including 14 in Ariel and at least nine in Maale Adumim, two of the largest illegal settlements and a frequent site of conflict following expansion plans.
The report also said that if hundreds more sellers are listed as “Israel” without specifying their location, there could be many more Etsy shops operating from illegal settlements.
Claire Provost, the report’s author and co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Journalism and Social Change, explains that while there are “clear connections” between hosts and venues, “these connections have, until now, gone undisclosed and unchallenged.”
“Western complicity in Israeli war crimes is so pervasive that Etsy, a popular platform for ‘feel good’ shopping, has even linked itself to businesses in the settlements,” Provost said.
Etsy, which operates in Israel through its subsidiary Etsy Ireland UC, could face questions and money laundering allegations if proceeds from its illicit payments business are found to have made their way into the Irish financial system.
A similar complaint involving booking.com filed in November 2023 is currently under investigation by authorities in the Netherlands.
The company said it disagreed with the allegations and stressed that “no law prohibits illegal listings in Israeli settlements.” However, the outcome of the investigation could set a precedent for actions in Israeli settlements.
In response to the findings, Etsy announced an internal investigation and said the company is working to “comply with applicable laws, including anti-money laundering and applicable sanctions laws.”
“Etsy is aiding and abetting war crimes in the form of forced displacement of indigenous people and the occupation forces’ civilian relocation into the occupied territories by promoting businesses in illegal Israeli settlements,” said Neil Sammonds, senior campaigner for Palestine at War on Want.
“Etsy’s complicity extends to apartheid crimes. Etsy must immediately cease these evil and illegal activities.”
