The Copenhagen Municipality has decided to divest from companies that have ties to Israeli settlements [Getty]
The Copenhagen Municipality has said it will be divesting from companies with links to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing Danish news site Ritzau.
The finance department of the city’s administration made the decision following a vote of nine to two in favour of ending the ties.
The vote means the Copenhagen Municipality will now sell its investments in companies including Airbnb, Expedia Group and Booking.com as they are among some of the companies added on a UN list of businesses with links to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Social Democrats, Red-Green Alliance and Social Liberals all voted in favour of the vote, while the Conservatives and Liberal Alliance voted against.
The decision comes after Copenhagen mayor Sophie Haestorp Andersaid highlighted that she didn’t think it was right to have links to such companies.
“As a large investor, we have a responsibility for things like human rights. That’s why I don’t think we should invest in companies that have to do with illegal settlements,” she said last week.
The University of Copenhagen in Denmark also said it would be withdrawing investments from three companies which operate in occupied Palestinian territories after weeks of student encampment protests at the campus.
Hundreds of students started protesting in early May to call for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and for the university to cut all academic ties with Israel, as well as the divestment from companies in occupied areas.
The university divested its holdings worth around 1 million Danish crowns ($145,810) in Airbnb, Booking.com and eDreams, it said in a statement.
They also said it would start working with fund managers to manage its investments and ensure they are complying by lists provided by the UN to avoid any ties with companies involved in illegal Israeli settlements.
