The rise of global boycotts against Israel’s genocide in Gaza

Protests to end Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians are getting louder and larger.

Seeing the livestreamed genocide Israel perpetrated in Gaza has had an effect globally, with the call to boycott Israel at an all-time high.

Quiet boycotts, which started in supermarkets nearly two decades ago, have turned into widely used apps that help millions make choices about purchases.

Campus protests and encampments in the US and Canada have led some major education institutions to cut ties with Israeli counterparts, while investments into Israel have dipped, and some of the world’s largest economies have recognised Palestine as a state.

Dr Mohammed Mustafa is a Palestinian Australian doctor whose parents left their native Deir el-Balah in central Gaza decades ago in search of a better life.

He volunteered in Gaza’s hospitals over the past two years and has shared it all on social media, including his visits to Gaza, attending conferences and advocating for Palestinians.

He says the experience of watching a genocide livestreamed has changed many people.

“For years, Palestinians have felt like we were shouting into a void. Now, to see people across continents marching, creating art, and demanding justice – it gives you hope that the world’s conscience is finally waking up.

“When I was younger, I never imagined this level of global solidarity… Seeing that tide turn now … it’s deeply moving. It feels like truth is finally finding its voice,” he continues.

Nearly 50,000 pro-Palestine protests in two years

In recent months, pro-Palestine protests have seen a noticeable uptick – between May and September 2025, they increased by 43 percent compared with the five months prior.

Over the past two years, there have been at least 49,000 pro-Palestinian protests across 133 countries and territories, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

The highest number of pro-Palestine demonstrations was recorded in Yemen (15,266), followed by Morocco (5,482), the US (5,346), Turkiye (2,349), Iran (1,919), Pakistan (1,539), France (1,397), Italy (1,390), Spain (1,102) and Australia (967).

The map below shows the locations of the 49,000 pro-Palestinian protests held between October 7, 2023, and October 3, 2025.

The growth of a boycott

Israel has grown increasingly isolated, the founder of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Omar Barghouti, told Al Jazeera.

BDS launched in 2005 to advocate for Palestinian rights and end Israel’s occupation and apartheid through targeting complicity, not individuals, he said.

Barghouti is from a Palestinian family that is deeply involved in politics and culture. Among the famous Barghoutis is Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving out several life sentences in an Israeli prison.

“The BDS movement has played the most important role in exacerbating the isolation of Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid and now genocide,” Barghouti said.

Barghouti noted that even the chairman of the Israel Export Institute, Avi Balashnikov, had admitted to challenges in global trade.

Balashnikov, at the Mind the Tech Conference 2024, said: “Economic boycotts and BDS organisations present major challenges, and in some countries, we are forced to operate under the radar.”

“BDS has achieved this impact by channelling the immense grief, rage and solidarity expressed by tens of millions worldwide into strategic, nonviolent, and very effective boycott and divestment campaigns,” Barghouti adds.

The BDS movement has identified numerous companies that are considered complicit in Israel’s occupation, human rights violations, or apartheid policies.

Their campaigns are divided into three main groups:

• Priority boycott targets: Companies and institutions with a proven record of complicity in Israeli apartheid and occupation. The BDS movement calls for a complete boycott of these brands.

• Pressure targets: Companies that BDS actively pressures through boycotts (when alternatives exist), lobbying, peaceful protests, social media campaigns, and strategic legal actions.

• Organic boycotts: Grassroots campaigns started by local communities, which BDS supports because of the boycotted brands’ complicity in Israel’s actions against Palestinians.

How are people boycotting?

Sumayya Rashid*, a 45-year-old expat mother living in the United Arab Emirates, has been teaching her 11-year-old daughter about what Palestinian children are experiencing and explaining to her how buying certain brands indirectly supports the genocide.

“We no longer buy anything from McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut or Carrefour. These were brands that we would consume before the boycott,” says Rashid, adding that they have found local replacements where possible.

Rashid says her daughter is immersed in Palestinian culture because of school and the community around it.

“She may not understand the extent of the genocide, but she does know we can’t be supporting Israel as they are the instigators of the violence.”

Rashid has found that it is easy to find alternatives in the UAE, but she relies on the Boycat app to double-check any items she is not sure about.

Boycat is one of several mobile apps launched over the past years to help consumers identify products targeted for boycott – it has partnered with the BDS movement, which helps keep its list up to date and ensure it follows BDS goals.

Across the Atlantic, in Toronto, Canada, is 26-year-old Jaspreet Kaur*, who feels there are some restrictions on speaking openly in support of Palestine in Canada.

“Palestine brought a lot of things into perspective for a lot of us. It’s just even looking down at your cup of morning coffee, and seeing this is such a core need, a necessity, which is a sheer luxury.

“Kids can’t play in the street without the fear of being bombed – that’s something I never have to think about,” says Kaur.

“I don’t remember the last time I had Starbucks or McDonald’s, or used Airbnb or booking.com,” she says adamantly.

Kaur says she has boycotted as much as possible, using apps to guide her, but that some consumer items from multinationals have crept back into her life due to budget constraints.

Beyond her personal shopping choices, Kaur has found it difficult to be vocal about supporting Palestine while working in corporate finance.

“I don’t go to as many protests as I would like to, I’ve taken off my Palestinian phone case and removed the Palestinian flag from my Instagram bio, I can’t be as loud as I need, as I want to personally,” she says.

As an immigrant waiting for her citizenship, Kaur says she feels her actions and thoughts on Palestine are not so accepted publicly and at work.

What has the boycott’s effect been?

Boycotts have not only affected the bottom lines of several companies complicit in Israel’s occupation but have also led to investments being pulled out of Israel and international embargoes on it, increasing economic and political pressure.

In November 2024, French retailer Carrefour closed all its stores in Jordan.

BDS has long highlighted Carrefour’s business ties with Israeli firms in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The company also exited Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, its locations being reopened as HyperMax, a local grocery chain launched by regional franchisee, Majid Al Futtaim.

The closures are seen as a major win for the movement, demonstrating the power of consumer-led campaigns on multinational corporations.

Two of the largest US food and beverage chains, McDonald’s and Starbucks, have felt the effect of boycotts, facing declining sales and reputational backlash, particularly across the Middle East and other Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

During an earnings call in January 2024, McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said the fast food giant had seen a “meaningful impact” in several markets.

Starbucks reported three consecutive quarters of global sales declines, with revenue down 2 percent for the year 2024.

In September, the giant announced plans to close dozens of US outlets and lay off some 900 employees as part of a $1bn restructuring initiative to reverse declining performance.

Divestments, sanctions, and diplomatic measures

In September, the Spanish government cancelled a weapons deal with Israel worth nearly 700 million euros ($815m). Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had previously announced an upcoming law banning military trade with Israel, which came into effect on October 9.

In 2024, Norway’s pension fund and France’s AXA divested from Israeli assets linked to settlements.

Ireland, Denmark, and the Netherlands’ pension funds also withdrew investments in Israeli-linked companies, including Caterpillar, Expedia, and TripAdvisor, due to concerns over human rights violations and involvement in illegal Israeli settlements.

In June, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom formally sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for “incitement of violence” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

In the same month, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain called for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Sweden has also asked the European Council to adopt sanctions “against Israeli ministers who promote illegal settlement activities and actively work against a negotiated two-state solution”.

For a Palestinian witnessing the turning of the global tide, Mustafa says he feels the movement for Palestine has become “one of the most dynamic social justice movements of our time”.

“It has brought together people from every background – faith-based, secular, Indigenous, and global – uniting them under a shared demand for human dignity.

“Because of that, I believe the Palestinian movement will shape how future struggles for justice are fought and understood,” he said.

UN monitoring

The UN Office of Human Rights, since 2020, has maintained a database of companies that are profiting from Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank.

In its September 2025 update, it listed 158 firms operating inside settlements deemed unlawful by the International Court of Justice.

While nearly 90 percent of the companies are Israeli, the list also includes multinationals registered in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the US.

These include well-known companies like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Motorola, Re/Max and TripAdvisor.

* Name changed upon interviewee’s request