As Caterpillar completes its annual shareholders meeting several human right group are raising consciousness about the human right abuses it supports. At Issue are the Bulldozers Caterpillar sells to the Israeli army. These are massive, armored, become weaponized and are used to destroy Palestinian lives and livelihoods.

The Caterpillar bulldozers they are referring to are the D9 model. They are two stories high and armored. A blade is attached that is 6 feet high and 15 feet wide. These Caterpillar bulldozers are also equipped with a “ripper” that is used to tear through Palestinian homes. The Israeli army attaches machine gun mounts, grenade launchers, and bullet proof windows. Through these modification the D9 Caterpillar bulldozers becomes essentially a 60 ton tank.. In 2001, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz stated that “The D9 is a strategic weapon here.”

The Bulldozers that caterpillar sells have been used to uproot hundreds of thousands of olive trees. Olive trees are the foundation of the Palestinian economy and a symbol of their culture. Therefore destroying their olive trees destroys their ability to provide for themselves.

The Israeli committee against house demolitions estimates that 24,145 Palestinian homes have been demolished by the Israeli army in the areas seized after the 1967 war. Many of these demolitions were revenge for attack on Israelis and were part of a collective punishment strategy. Collective punishment is a war crime under the fourth Geneva convention and the second additional protocol.

The Caterpillar bulldozers have also been used to clear agricultural land that Palestinians depend on for the 490 mile wall that is going through the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The route that Israel has planned for this wall was declared illegal in 2004 by an International Court of Justice advisory ruling.

These bulldozers have also been used to crush civilians to death. The victims of these bulldozer attacks include a family of 7 Palestinians, a 38 -year old paralyzed man, and a pregnant woman. These people died while there homes were being demolished. Then there was the 23 year old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corry who was crushed to death by a bulldozer while trying to protect a Palestinian home from being demolished.

With enough support from the human right community it can be unprofitable for Caterpillar to support these violation of international law. Not only can it be unprofitable from a sales point of view; recent court ruling could make it too costly from a legal point of view. The U.S. District Court recently ruled in a manner that allows lawsuits in U.S. Courts against multi-national corporations that provided material support to South Africa's Apartheid government. This decision specifically included heavy machinery and engine manufacturers such as Fujitsuk, Ford and General Motors. Eventually Caterpillar might be able to be successfully sued in the same manner for knowingly providing equipment that is used to violate international law.

Little by little some institutions have started to divest from Caterpillar. The Church of England and Hampshire college in Massachusetts have already distanced themselves from caterpillar by selling their shares of caterpillar stock. These institutions don't want to be involved in violations of international law and human rights abuses.