CRH and HeidelbergCement named in West Bank lawsuit

CRH and HeidelbergCement are among a number of defendants named in a US$34.5bn lawsuit brought on behalf of Palestinians by US lawyers in Washington DC.

The case, which was lodged earlier in March, alleges that both firms were among a number of companies and individuals that engaged in "profiteering" from the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Irish Times reports.

The newspaper noted that CRH sold its stake in Israeli cement company Nesher in January and no longer had any interests in Israel. Despite this, US lawyers acting for the plaintiffs said that they would still pursue the firm over its historic involvement.

HeidelbergCement was named as a defendant thanks to its subsidiary, Hanson Israel. Documents filed with the court state that the firm has been “regularly supplying construction materials like cement to construction projects in segregated settlements”.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, George Bisharat, a Palestinian-American law professor at California University, stated:

"I'm sceptical of courts and their willingness to be politically daring and would put the odds of this case winning at less than 50 per cent”.