US trying to prevent UN ‘blacklisting’ Israeli firms: report

The Trump administration and Israel are working to prevent the publication of a “blacklist” identifying companies operating in Israel’s West Bank settlements, The Associated Press reported Sunday. 

Israeli officials are concerned publishing the list of companies being compiled in a United Nations database could drive business away, according to the AP.

{mosads}The companies have not been publicly identified, but reportedly include banks, supermarkets, restaurant chains and security firms, among others.

About 100 local companies that operate in the West Bank have been warned that they will be on the list, Israeli officials told the AP.

“We just view that type of blacklist as counterproductive,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in August.

Other officials opposing the list have said the issue should be dealt with in trade policy, the AP reported.

The international community considers the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which is claimed by the Palestinians, to be illegal. But Israel has rejected those claims.

The Trump administration caused tension with Palestinians in recent weeks after it threatened to shutter the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s office in Washington, D.C.

The State Department announced Friday that the office would be allowed to remain open with certain limitations.