While other payment companies engage in business with Palestinians in the occupied territories, PayPal exclusively offers services to Israelis in the region
Eleven US Congress members, led by Representative Mark Pocan, have called on PayPal to cease its ban on Palestinian business in the occupied territories, expressing concerns about discriminatory practices. The lawmakers argue that PayPal’s differential treatment, allowing Israeli settlers to use the platform while denying Palestinians access, violates the Palestinians’ right to equal participation in the digital economy.
Prior to PayPal’s annual stockholder meeting on Wednesday, the CEO, Dan Schulman, received the letter from members of Congress. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Betty McCollum, Rashida Tlaib, Greg Casar, and several others also signed the letter. Despite operating in conflict-ridden regions such as Yemen and Somalia, PayPal has not publicly justified its decision to specifically target residents of the Palestinian territories. While other financial service providers like Visa, Mastercard, and Apple Pay operate smoothly in the West Bank and Gaza, PayPal simply categorizes the area as “high risk.”
Palestinian business owners have drawn parallels between the PayPal ban and Israeli checkpoints, highlighting how it hampers economic growth, especially considering that many other platforms, such as eBay, rely on the payment service. Harrington Investments, an ethical investment firm founded by John Harrington, known for advocating US corporate divestment from apartheid South Africa, has submitted a proposal during PayPal’s shareholder meeting. The proposal urges the payment platform’s board to establish a policy that ensures individuals in conflict zones, including Palestine, are not subjected to discriminatory exclusion from financial services. If PayPal chooses not to implement such a policy, the proposal requests an assessment of the policy’s impact on affected populations, as well as the company’s financials, operations, and reputation.
PayPal has issued a plea to its shareholders, urging them to vote against the proposal.
During the shareholder meeting, Sam Bahour, a Palestinian American businessman, intends to inform attendees that his companies have collaborated with the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. However, they are unable to utilize PayPal. Bahour, who is one of the founders of the Palestine Telecommunications Company, pointed out that prominent companies such as Cisco, HP, and Oracle operate within the Palestinian territories.
According to a transcript of his prepared speech, Bahour stated, “Similarly, it is a well-known fact that Palestine possesses a flourishing banking industry, and all Palestinian banks have established partnerships with US banks for daily money transfers. The US Treasury Department is also actively engaged in Palestine and has commended the high level of compliance exhibited by Palestinian banks.”
Upon the announcement of the partnership, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee raised a question to PayPal, inquiring, “Are you planning to take action against organizations that provide financial support to settler groups involved in acts of violence against Palestinians?” This query referred to registered charitable organizations in the United States that annually contribute tens of millions of dollars to fund settlers responsible for the displacement of Palestinians from their land, among other activities widely recognized as war crimes according to the Geneva Conventions.
