In October 2021, Palestinian and international rights groups have renewed a campaign demanding that digital payment giant PayPal stop excluding millions of Palestinians from accessing its services.

PayPal is a global leader of online payment solutions that operates in more than 200 countries, including some which struggle with major economic and political instability, such as Somalia and Yemen. The company offers its services to all Israelis, including those residing in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, but not to the five million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.

As part of the #PayPal4Palestine initiative, 7amleh alognside 55 Palestinian, Arab and international groups sent an open letter to PayPal urging the company's CEO Daniel H Schulman to end discriminatory practices against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and to allow Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip to have access to the platform.

The letter also indicates an absence of human rights due diligence by PayPal as stated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and non-adherence to international law.

Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited PayPal to respond to the open letter. We also asked the company to set out any steps they are taking in response. PayPal did not respond.