What is HP?

Hewlett-Packard (HP) is a multinational information technology company that provides a wide range of hardware and software products, including scanners, printers, and computers.

Palestinian civil society, through the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign (BDS), has asked the international community to boycott HP due to its role in supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.[i]

How is HP connected to Israel’s occupation?

HP provides technologies and services directly to the Israeli government, military, and security forces, thereby facilitating Israel’s illegal control over the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). These include IT infrastructure, biometric identification systems, and other technologies that facilitate the administration of the OPT. The technology supplied by HP aids in the enforcement of policies and practices that restrict the movement and rights of Palestinians, impacting their daily lives through surveillance and control mechanisms.[ii] This control of Palestinian movement has been identified by human rights groups as a key aspect of Israel’s system of apartheid.[iii]

HP has had multiple business operations in the illegal settlement industry in the OPT. HP has also worked with the Israeli military, helping build its IT infrastructure.[iv] This included a program with the Israeli Navy which enforces the illegal naval blockade on Gaza.

What role has HP played in Israel’s biometric ID card system?

Significant resources have been invested by the United States and American technology companies into Israel’s biometric identification system and incorporated into Israel’s checkpoint inspection system.[v]

For example, HP funded and developed the “Basel” biometric ID card system for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. From 2005 to 2015, the Basel System was used to track and control the Palestinian population. This system severely restricts Palestinians' freedom of movement by making it difficult to travel without constant surveillance and checkpoint controls.[vi]

Deployed in Gaza and the West Bank, it was a system used for segregation and control, and as a tool for enforcing the Israeli occupation.[vii] By design, the checkpoints segregate and fragment the OPT and its inhabitants, separating workers from their places of employment, students from their schools, and families from each other through electrified fences, watchtowers, and concrete barriers.[viii]

The Basel System also worked as a permit mechanism for Palestinian workers, with biometric makers including fingerprint, hand, retinal scans and facial recognition data used at the checkpoints.[ix]

How else does HP maintain Israel’s system of Apartheid?

HP continues to provide technology services and equipment to the Israeli military and prison systems, supporting operations that include surveillance and the detention of Palestinians, including children. HP remains involved in the occupation through the contracts with its subdivision Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE).[x]

HPE supplies and manages the technological infrastructure of Israel’s apartheid and settler colonialism.[xi] HPE does this through its “Itanium” servers and maintenance services to Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, which digitized Israel’s checkpoint system while storing vast amounts of information on all Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and non-citizen Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem.[xii] The registry controls and documents the personal information of all Palestinians, including those in the OPT, as well as Syrians in the occupied Golan Heights. It manages permits for work, travel, and other essential activities, enabling Israel to implement discriminatory policies, restrict movement, and control access to services for Palestinians, while also overseeing international crossings for West Bank residents.[xiii]

HPE also directly contracts with Israeli settlements in the OPT which are illegal under international law. These include Modi’in Ilit and Ariel, two of the largest Jewish-only illegal settlements in the West Bank.[xiv]

Additionally, HPE maintains the central server system for the Israeli Prison Service, placing the company at the core of Israel's use of mass incarceration to suppress Palestinian resistance.[xv] In 2024, HPE was contracted by the Israel Prison Service as the sole supplier to provide equipment maintenance, demonstrating HPs continued and direct support for Israel’s apartheid system.[xvi] 

What is the impact of HP’s corporate restructuring on its involvement in Israel’s occupation?

In 2015, HP had a corporate restructuring and split into three companies: HP Inc., HPE, and DXC Technology.[xvii] This restructuring complicates accountability as these entities continue to engage in activities linked to the Israeli occupation. However, both HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have continued to profit from their past and ongoing activities in Israel. As such, despite their efforts to distance themselves from their unjust actions against Palestinians,[xviii] HP and its subdivisions remain responsible for the actions of their predecessors and must be held accountable.[xix]

What are suitable strategies for boycotting HP in Canada?

There are multiple ways that Canadians can boycott HP. At the individual consumer level, Canadians can participate in the boycott by avoiding the purchase of HP scanners, printers, and other hardware, and instead opt for products from brands that do not have similar complicity in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Individuals can join campaigns aimed at boycotting HP and contact local retailers to express concerns about selling HP products.[xx]

Organizations in Canada can also follow the examples of successful public actions and campaigns from other countries. For instance, in 2016, BDS Italy organized a campaign involving Italian pop star Fedez, leading to HP's removal from a conference on ethics in information technology. Similarly, the UK's Palestine Solidarity Campaign staged a protest at HPE’s Discover Event, distributing fake ID cards highlighting HP’s human rights violations. These actions can inspire similar efforts in Canada at local municipal levels, in stores, and across university campuses.[xxi]

Creating HP-free zones is another significant strategy. An example of a successful HP-free zone is the 2016 HP-Free Churches campaign by Friends of Sabeel - North America (FOSNA), where churches pledged not to purchase new HP equipment until HP ends its complicity in violating Palestinian human rights.[xxii] HP-free zones can extend beyond Palestine solidarity circles, reaching community organizations, NGOs, and labour unions. By passing divestment resolutions and establishing HP-free environments, these organizations can build momentum, attract media attention, and send a strong message to HP.[xxiii] Institutions can also support the boycott by placing “This Is My Last HP” stickers on existing HP equipment, ensuring they are not advertising for HP while not discarding old devices.[xxiv]

[i] “Boycott HP.” BDS Movement.

[ii] “HP Inc.” AFSC Investigate. November 5 2020.

[iii] “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity.” Amnesty International. February 1, 2022.

[iv] “Boycott HP.” BDS Movement.

[v] “The gendered aspect of Israeli checkpoints in the OPT.” Who Profits. December 2015

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] “How western Big Tech giants enable Israel's occupation.” The Cradle. July 20, 2024.

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] “HP Inc.” AFSC Investigate. November 5 2020.

[x] “What is HPE's Current Involvement in the Israeli Occupation Industry?” Who Profits. January 2022.

[xi] “How western Big Tech giants enable Israel's occupation.” The Cradle. July 20, 2024.

[xii] Ibid.

[xiii] “Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).” Who Profits. July 9, 2024.

[xiv] “How western Big Tech giants enable Israel's occupation.” The Cradle. July 20, 2024.

[xv] “Special Rapporteur Says Israel’s Unlawful Carceral Practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Are Tantamount to International Crimes and Have Turned it into an Open-Air Prison.” United Nations. 10 July 2023.

[xvi] “Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).” Who Profits. July 9, 2024.

[xvii] “HP Inc.” AFSC Investigate. November 5, 2020.

[xviii] “HP Statement on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign.” HP. May 25, 2021.

[xix] “Civil Society Organizations Around the World Urge HP Companies to End All Involvement in Violations of Palestinian Rights.” BDS. March 29, 2018.

[xx] “Boycott Hewlett Packard: Technology of Israeli Apartheid.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, FOSNA, American Friends Service Committee, et al. 2019.

[xxi] Ibid.

[xxii] Ibid.

[xxiii] Ibid.

[xxiv] Ibid.