Controllers Exploiting Mass Killings for Financial Gain

Controllers Exploiting Mass Killings for Financial Gain

In a damning report submitted to the United Nations, Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has named 48 corporations and institutions for their alleged involvement in an "economy of occupation" that sustains Israel's actions, which she describes as apartheid and genocide.

The corporations, including arms manufacturers, tech companies, banks, energy giants, and academic institutions, are accused of profiting from and enabling violations of international law connected to Israel's occupation and military actions in Gaza and the West Bank. The list includes Palantir Technologies Inc., Lockheed Martin, Alphabet Inc., Amazon, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among others.

The report highlights the significant supply and demand, little oversight, and zero accountability for arms manufacturers and Big Tech in Israel, with investors and private and public institutions profiting freely. Corporations have allegedly profiteered from this "captive market" by exploiting Palestinian labor and resources, degrading and diverting natural resources, building and powering colonies, and selling and marketing derived goods and services in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory, and globally.

One of the most controversial allegations is that Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, stated that most of the Palestinians killed by Israeli military are "terrorists." The report also accuses Palantir Technologies of providing equipment to the Israeli military.

Caterpillar Inc. is another corporation under scrutiny, with the report claiming that its D9 bulldozer is a core weapon of the Israeli military, used in almost every military activity since 2000. The company has provided equipment used by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian homes, hospitals, and mosques.

The report also criticises tech companies for providing dual-use infrastructure to integrate mass data collection and surveillance, while profiting from the unique testing ground for military technology offered by the occupied Palestinian territory. Microsoft, active in Israel since 1989, is "embedded in the prison service, police, universities, and schools - including in colonies." Microsoft has been integrating its systems and civilian tech across the Israeli military since 2003, while acquiring Israeli cybersecurity and surveillance start-ups.

The report demands these firms and institutions sever ties with Israel or be held accountable for complicity in war crimes. However, there is currently no evidence that the named corporations and institutions have ceased their involvement or faced enforced compliance measures based on Albanese's report. The Israeli government has rejected cooperation with the U.N. Human Rights Council and dismissed Albanese's report as biased and motivated by an agenda to delegitimize Israel's existence.

The report includes a database of over 1,000 corporate entities that collaborate with Israel. It makes clear that decisions made by the International Court of Justice place an obligation on entities "to not engage and/or to withdraw totally and unconditionally from any associated dealings, and to ensure that any engagement with Palestinians enables their self-determination."

As of July 2025, the status of these corporations and institutions remains unchanged, and no broad enforcement mechanisms appear to have been implemented. Albanese calls for states to take strong measures such as imposing full arms embargoes on Israel, suspending trade agreements, ending investments, and ensuring legal accountability for these companies. While the report exposes and condemns corporate involvement in alleged war crimes and calls for global legal and economic action, the corporations' current compliance status remains largely unchanged.

1. The special rapporteur's damning report accuses various corporations and institutions of profiting from Israel's actions, which are described as apartheid and genocide.
2. The corporations, including tech companies, banks, energy giants, academic institutions, and arms manufacturers, are alleged to have enabled violations of international law connected to Israel's occupation and military actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
3. The report calls for these corporations to sever ties with Israel or face accountability for complicity in war crimes.
4. The tech industry is criticized for providing dual-use infrastructure that integrates mass data collection and surveillance, profiting from the unique testing ground for military technology in the occupied Palestinian territory.
5. In education and self-development, Microsoft is "embedded" in Israeli universities and schools, despite its involvement in the prison service, police, and military.
6. The entertainment, finance, and business industries are highlighted for investing in and profiting from corporations that exploit Palestinian labor and resources, degrade and divert natural resources, build and power colonies, and sell derived goods and services globally.
7. Social media platforms and the general news industry are implicated for spreading propaganda and misinformation, biased reporting, and providing a platform for hate speech against Palestinians.
8. The crime and justice industry, including the Israeli prison system, is accused of using surveillance technology to violate the human rights of Palestinians, while the sports industry is under scrutiny for normalizing occupation by hosting sports events in Israel and colonies.

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