Caterpillar (or CAT) has temporarily suspended a shipment of D9 bulldozers to Israel. These D9s, valued at $50 million, are weaponized bulldozers used by the Israeli military to illegally demolish Palestinian homes and other property. A D9 was used to kill peace activist Rachel Corrie when she tried to protect a Palestinian home seven years ago.
CAT has suspended the shipment because Corrie’s parents are bringing a civil suit against the Israeli government in a Tel Aviv court. The company has stopped shipments for the length of the trial, which some activists have taken as an admission by the company that their products are being used to violate international law and human rights.
Activists have been demanding that Caterpillar suspend shipments for the past seven years, but the company has refused to budge until now. Some 11,795 Palestinian homes have been demolished over the past decade due to the profit-before-people policies of capitalists like those at Caterpillar.
