USS invests in over 40% of the companies supporting Israel’s genocidal actions in Palestine and their illegal occupation of Palestinian territory
A recent ‘Don’t Buy into the Occupation’ report [1] has identified 104 companies that are involved in one or more of eleven “listed activities” that “contribute to the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including its commission of acts that amount to genocide and apartheid”.
Currently USS invests in 46 of these 104 companies. USS also invests in 21 of the 47 European financial organisations providing funding to support these companies and invests in 32 of the top 100 shareholders of the 104 companies. USS itself is amongst these top 100 (No 91).
In 2024 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful in its entirety and violates key international norms, including the prohibition of denial of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the prohibition on acquiring territory by force (annexation), and the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. It further found a “plausible risk” of genocide in Israel’s actions in Gaza. In July and August 2025, UN reports concluded that Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, as did Amnesty International in December 2025. The ICJ also recognises that companies have obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, i.e., according to the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Regulations, the Genocide Convention, among other human rights treaties. In other words, companies – along with their executives, board members, and employees – may be held directly and/or indirectly responsible for international crimes and human rights violations.
It is entirely unethical, and potentially illegal, for USS to invest in entities supporting these egregious illegal acts. We urge USS to apply its own responsible investment principles and divest from such companies, noting that there will be no significant risk of financial detriment in most cases, and divesting would be completely in line with their legal fiduciary duty. In just the past year alone there is a long list of pension funds and other organisations that have divested from companies supporting Israel’s actions in Palestine and there is no reason that USS should not join them.
Establishing a code of ethics for the investment strategy of a pension scheme like USS presents challenges. However, a straightforward and easily verifiable approach would be that they do not invest in companies that breach domestic or international laws. Rejection of this view would suggest that USS are unable to identify sufficient alternative investment opportunities that would get similar returns. This would appear difficult to believe.
Read the new report here.