G4S sells Israeli police business in major victory for BDS movement

One of the world’s largest private security companies G4S has sold its business with the Israeli police force in a major victory for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, according to its website.

"In a major win for human rights activism against corporate complicity, the world's largest private security company Allied Universal, which owns G4S, has decided to sell all its remaining business in apartheid Israel," the campaign group said in a statement on Wednesday. 

Major #BDS victory: world's largest security firm G4S is divesting completely from apartheid Israel by selling its shares in the police training academy!

Investing in apartheid is always unethical; now it's financially reckless too. #ShutDownNationhttps://t.co/SQRIOJzQjr

— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) June 1, 2023

Allied Universal, which bought British security giant G4S in 2021, has been pressured to sell its stake in the consortium that operates Israel’s police academy Policity after BDS’ concerted campaign was launched by Palestinian prisoners’ rights and human rights groups in 2012. 

Several high-profile organisations and institutions divested from G4S since the campaign began, according to BDS, including the Church of Sweden, the United Methodist Church, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and multiple UN agencies. 

The New Arab has reached out to G4S for comment. 

G4S helped Israel operate its prisons, where Palestinian prisoners were routinely held without charge and subjected to abuse and torture. 

The BDS campaign is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality that aims to stop individuals and companies from doing business in Israel that furthers the occupation of Palestinian territory.

The BDS movement hailed the divestment as a victory, but added that the world must intensify pressure on "other corporate criminals to make them respect their human rights obligations and stop profiting from oppression and injustice".