Al Jazeera, in collaboration with the Palestinian Youth Movement, has conducted a joint investigation revealing that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the largest shipping company globally, has been linked to the shipment of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan to international markets, particularly the United States. The investigation uncovered commercial documents and U.S. import databases that indicate MSC shipped at least 957 consignments from these settlements between January and November 2025.

The investigation highlights that 529 of these shipments passed through European ports, with Spanish ports leading the way at 390 shipments, followed by Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium. This cross-continental transport raises significant concerns regarding international complicity in the ongoing Israeli settlement enterprise, which is widely regarded as illegal under international law and condemned by many nations and organizations.

In conjunction with this investigation, the Israeli security cabinet (the 'kabinett') has approved measures aimed at accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank, including lifting restrictions on the sale of Palestinian properties to Israelis and permitting demolitions in Palestinian areas. These developments suggest a troubling trend of increasing settlement activity, which undermines hopes for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and raises ethical questions about companies like MSC acting in ways that support these contentious policies.