Update on new Settlement Packing House in the Jordan Valley

Existing Jordan Plains packing house next to the new structure

Last week Corporate Watch revisited the building site for a new packing house on the land of the Arovot HaYarden Regional Council close to Massua settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley. Workers at the site confirmed that the building will be a new date refrigeration house for Jordan Plains. Jordan Plains is a company exporting through Carmel Agrexco.
The construction of the new packing house, on illegally occupied territory, suggests that Agrexco and Jordan Plains intend to extend their export capacity for dates. Palestinians in the area are unable to build any permanent structures at all due to military restrictions, let alone one on this scale. (more…)

The Buds of Peace? An interview with workers from Tulkarem industrial zone


Cargo Terminal Close to Tulkarem


The Nitzanei Shalom settlement industrial zone was built on the land of the West Bank town of Tulkarem in the early eighties.  The land was confiscated by order of the Israeli military. The name means the ‘buds of peace’. Presently the zone houses eight factories owned by Israelis but worked in by Palestinians. The zone has been accused of causing a deterioration in health for the nearby residents of Tulkarem, unsafe working conditions and underpaying workers.
Corporate Watch interviewed several workers from the Solor and Yamit factories:
More info on Solor from Who Profits
More info on Yamit from Who Profits (more…)

UK Company Exporting from Jordan Valley Settlements


Truck marked EDOM UK in Tomer


The Jordan Valley is the Palestinian area most relentlessly exploited by settlement agricultural companies. Most famously campaigners have been focusing on the Israeli national exporter Carmel Agrexco for their illegal exports from the area. However, Corporate Watch has uncovered a new company to add to the target list. During a trip to the area we found a packing house bearing the signage of the Israeli company ‘Edom UK’ (http://www.edom.co.il/), 20% owned by the British company Valley Grown Salads (www.v-g-s.co.uk). The packing house is based in the agricultural area of the settlement of Tomer. There was also a truck marked EDOM UK picking up produce from the settlement. (more…)

Corporations in Katzerin Industrial Zone – Part three

Bobcat machines in Katzerin

Katzerin is a settlement of 6444 people situated in the occupied Golan Height. It was established on the land of the Syrian area of Fakhura.

Simmons – www.simmons.com – International mattress company based in US. Simmons have an office in the UK:

Simmons Bedding Group plc
Knight Road, Rochester
Kent, England ME2 2BP
United Kingdom

Lithotech – Produce kidney stones’ removal devices, sold by special agreement worldwide by Cook Urology (USA). See ‘Who Profits’ for more details.

Bobcat – www.bobcat.com – Bobcat are a manufacturer of construction equipment who are known to hire equipement, through Emcol, for the construction and maintenance of settlements.  Bobcat Company is a business of Doosan Infracore International, a US-based subsidiary of Doosan Infracore (South Korea). Bobcat machnes were seen working on the road in Katzerin industrial zone. See ‘Who Profits’ for more details. (more…)

“Produce of Israel”: British Company Mislabelling Settlement Goods


Herbs inside the Halpert Moshe Packing House


Despite increased publicity regarding the labelling of Israeli settlement produce, and the recent DEFRA guidance on the matter which states that produce from the settlements should be labelled as such, it only took us a few minutes inside the illegal Jordan Valley settlement of Mehola to find herbs bound for a British company being mislabelled. Herbs bearing the logo of Fresh Direct, who have their head office in Oxfordshire, were spotted inside the Halpert Moshe ‘fresh herbs’ packing house which operates under the Carmel Agrexco banner. At this location herbs being prepared came with a joint Fresh Direct/Carmel Agrexco label which clearly states the product as being “Produce of Israel”, despite being packaged in an organic farm on an illegal settlement in the Israeli occupied West Bank. The label we collected was for 70 grams of sage with the text written in English, indicating that the contents were intended for export to Britain. There were also herbs labelled in German (without the Fresh Direct logo) inside the packing house. (more…)

Organic Apartheid – Mehola Settlement

Yair Bni Menashe Carmel Packing House


The settlement of Mehola is situated in the Northern Jordan Valley. It is comprised of a gated, fenced residential settlement and an agricultural area. The agricultural area is close to the Palestinian village of Ein al Beida and Palestinian workers, including child workers, work in the fields and packing houses. Workers are paid from 60-80 shekels per day, half the Israeli minimum wage, and have no contracts or health insurance. There have been documented incidents of employers in Mehola falsifying wage slips in order to appear to be paying proper wages. (more…)

Lee Cooper Branches in the UK and Ireland

Lee Cooper are one of the only British retail companies to operate in the settlements. The company have a branch in Adumim Mall in theillegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim (see http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/evidence-of-british-company-lee-cooper-trading-in-illegal-israeli-settlement/) They have a head office in London and branches in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, France, Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Read more…