Bershka MILITARY

Research date: 9 October 2026 Request ID: e06a5c7c-4253-4ed0-ac5d-74dfa720a5dd

Scope and attribution

Bershka is an Inditex fashion/apparel brand; the parent accounts identify the group and its brand-specific retail/design/logistics entities.¹ In Israel, the independently retrieved purchase terms identify Daniel Gottex Ltd as the local authorised seller/importer under ITX MERKEN B.V., while the privacy notice names GOTTEX MUTAGIM – REGISTERED PARTNERSHIP and ITX MERKEN B.V. as controllers. These legal names are kept distinct.^{2, 3}

Inditex’s 2025 corporate-governance report identifies Amancio Ortega Gaona as controlling shareholder with 59.294% of voting rights at 31 January 2026, Marta Ortega Pérez as non-executive chair and Óscar García Maceiras as chief executive.⁴ FY2025 results list 15 Bershka stores in Israel at 31 January 2026.⁵ Aquilon’s current operator portfolio lists Bershka among its Israeli retail brands; its undated statement of 17 stores is kept separate from the dated corporate total.⁶ A 2025 report identifies the Schwebel/Trimera franchise group.⁷ These records keep brand/parent, local importer/controller and independent operator/principal attribution separate.^{1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7}

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

Ministry of Defence and IDF contracts

No public evidence identified of a contract, tender award, framework agreement or memorandum between Bershka or Inditex and the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Prison Service, Israel Border Police or another Israeli state-security body. The target did not surface as a military supplier in the checked A/HRC/59/23 material, AFSC occupation/military database, Who Profits database work or PAX’s 2024 arms-supply investigation.^{8, 9, 10, 11, 12}

The current Israeli legal material located for Bershka instead describes retail distribution, sale, importing and consumer-data processing through the Gottex/ITX Merken structure.^{2, 3}

Defence trade directory listings

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex being listed as an Israeli defence exporter, defence contractor or military supplier in the defence-directory/tender searches completed for this audit. The checked specialist databases identify companies with military, checkpoint, settlement and security links, but targeted Bershka/Inditex searches produced no target profile.^{9, 10, 11, 12}

Press releases and official announcements

No public evidence identified of a Bershka or Inditex press release, Israeli government announcement or defence-trade announcement describing defence cooperation, joint development or a military partnership. PAX’s 2024 report focuses on major arms producers and their financiers; Bershka and Inditex were not identified in the target searches against that material.¹²

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

Militarised product lines

No public evidence identified that Bershka manufactures or markets ruggedised, tactical, mil-spec or defence-grade products. The corporate accounts and operator profile describe a fashion/apparel retail brand.^{1, 6}

A December 2024 report on a Bershka flagship in Petah Tikva describes civilian retail features including a roughly 600-square-metre store and sensor-equipped fitting-room technology; it does not describe a military or security product line.¹³

Civilian-to-military distinction

No public evidence identified of a Bershka civilian product being contract-modified, military-specified or purpose-built for an Israeli security end-user. Ordinary consumer apparel availability and the existence of Israeli retail stores are not evidence of military procurement.^{1, 2, 5, 12}

End-user certification and export licensing

No public evidence identified of an export-licence application, end-user certificate or export-control review for Bershka/Inditex products supplied to an Israeli defence or security end-user.^{8, 12} The Israel terms describe Daniel Gottex Ltd. as importer for Bershka’s online retail products, which documents civilian merchandise importing rather than a defence end-user arrangement.²

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

Equipment in occupied territories

No public evidence identified that Bershka or Inditex manufactures or supplies heavy machinery, vehicles, demolition equipment or construction equipment used in settlements, at the separation barrier, at military installations or elsewhere in occupied territory.^{1, 14, 15, 9, 11} The business activity documented by Bershka’s current corporate material is fashion retail.¹

The 2023 OHCHR settlement-database update and 2024 progress report describe the database’s settlement-related business scope and methodology; targeted Bershka/Inditex searches did not identify the target in the checked material.^{14, 15} AFSC’s current occupation database likewise explains that it covers specified occupation-related corporate conduct and contains companies tied to settlements, checkpoints, weapons and military equipment; Bershka/Inditex did not appear in the target searches performed.^{9, 10}

Direct versus indirect supply

No public evidence identified of Bershka equipment reaching an Israeli military or settlement end-user through an authorised dealer, distributor or secondary market.^{14, 9, 11} The identified Daniel Gottex/ITX Merken relationship concerns Bershka consumer retail and importing.²

Construction and engineering contracts

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex holding a construction, maintenance or engineering contract for checkpoints, detention facilities, military bases, the separation barrier or settlement infrastructure.^{14, 15, 9, 11}

For geographic cross-checking, Aquilon’s current retail portfolio lists Bershka among its Israeli brands and provides retailer-location information.⁶ The government VAT dataset and narrow Ariel-directory result could not be independently retrieved and are not relied upon. No complete address-level geospatial exclusion or blanket settlement clearance is established.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

Component supply to Israeli defence manufacturers

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex supplying components, sub-systems, raw materials or specialist manufacturing services to Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, IMI/Elbit Land or another Israeli defence prime. Targeted searches in the checked military and occupation databases did not produce such a link.^{8, 9, 11, 12}

Specific component categories

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex supplying optical systems, electronic sub-assemblies, propulsion components, structural materials, guidance systems, communications modules, armour materials or another defence component category to an Israeli military manufacturer.^{8, 9, 11, 12}

Joint development and co-production

No public evidence identified of a joint development programme, co-production agreement, technology-transfer arrangement or licensed military manufacturing agreement between Bershka/Inditex and an Israeli defence firm.^{8, 9, 11, 12}

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

Service contracts to military installations

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex providing catering, transport, fuel, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications or another base-support service to IDF facilities, detention centres or security installations.^{8, 9, 11} The public Israeli operating documents retrieved concern retail importing, sales and data processing.^{2, 3}

Geographic specificity

No public evidence identified of Bershka/Inditex providing military-support services to installations in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights or Negev. The checked OHCHR, AFSC and Who Profits material did not yield a target-specific military/service relationship.^{14, 15, 9, 11}

Shipping, freight and port services

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex holding a freight-forwarding, port-handling or shipping contract for Israeli military cargo or arms.^{8, 9, 11, 12} Daniel Gottex Ltd.’s documented status as importer of Bershka retail products does not establish defence logistics.²

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

Lethal systems manufacturing

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex acting as a prime contractor or licensed manufacturer of small arms, artillery, armoured vehicles, tactical drones, naval vessels or other lethal military platforms. PAX’s 2024 report identifies major arms producers supplying Israel; targeted searches did not identify Bershka or Inditex among those defence suppliers.¹²

Munitions and precursor materials

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex supplying ammunition, explosive ordnance, chemical propellants, warhead components or munitions precursors to Israeli defence end-users.^{8, 9, 12}

Strategic and existential defence systems

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex manufacturing, integrating, maintaining or supplying components for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, fighter aircraft, main battle tanks, warships or ballistic-missile systems.^{8, 9, 12}

Sub-system and critical component supply

No public evidence identified of Bershka or Inditex supplying targeting, guidance, fire-control, radar, propulsion or weapons-integration sub-systems.^{8, 9, 12} No evidence was identified of purpose-built targeting or kill-chain software attributable to Bershka/Inditex; the digital material retrieved for Bershka concerns consumer retail and data processing.^{3, 13}

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

Export licence decisions

No public evidence identified of a government granting, denying, suspending or revoking an export licence for Bershka/Inditex products destined for an Israeli military or security end-user.^{8, 12}

Arms embargo and sanctions compliance

No public evidence identified of an investigation, citation or enforcement action against Bershka or Inditex for violating an arms embargo, defence-export control or sanctions regime relating to Israel. The checked military-supply material did not identify the target as an arms producer or military exporter.^{8, 12}

Legal challenges and judicial review

No public evidence identified of a court proceeding or judicial review concerning a Bershka/Inditex defence-supply relationship with Israel.^{8, 12}

The ICJ issued its advisory opinion concerning the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 19 July 2024, and the ICC announced arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant on 21 November 2024.^{16, 17} Those proceedings are used here only as dated constructive-notice reference points requested by the audit framework; neither cited primary record identifies Bershka as a defence supplier.^{16, 17}

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

NGO, UN and academic investigations

A/HRC/59/23 is a 2025 Special Rapporteur report examining corporate involvement across military, surveillance, construction, financial and other sectors; targeted text searches of its retrievable HTML produced no match for Bershka, Inditex or Zara.⁸ Targeted Bershka/Inditex searches also produced no profile in the checked AFSC and Who Profits materials.^{9, 10, 11} AFSC expressly cautions that its database does not include every Israeli company or every company doing business in Israel, so absence from that database is not proof of absence of all relevant conduct.^{9, 10}

The 2023 OHCHR settlement-database update reported a review of the 112 enterprises identified in 2020 and the removal of 15; the 2024 progress report explains the database’s limited listed-activity mandate and did not add new company names in that progress report.^{14, 15} No Bershka/Inditex target match was identified in the searches completed against those retrievable materials.^{14, 15}

PAX’s June 2024 report examines major arms producers supplying Israel and their financiers, while Al-Haq/Don’t Buy Into Occupation V in November 2025 addresses companies across weapons, ICT, finance and settlement-linked activities.^{12, 18} Targeted searches did not identify Bershka or Inditex as a military supplier in the checked material.^{12, 18}

Current authoritative-list cross-check. The 25 September 2026 OHCHR A/HRC/63/20 update was independently downloaded and full-text checked for Bershka, Inditex and Gottex; no target name was found. This is a mandate-limited settlement-business list and its non-listing does not establish absence of all military or settlement conduct.¹⁹

Boycott and divestment campaigns

A 2022 boycott episode followed Israeli franchise principal Joey Schwebel hosting Itamar Ben Gvir at his home; reporting described the backlash as directed at Zara and identified Schwebel as chairman of Trimera Brands, the Israeli franchisee for Zara and other Inditex brands.²⁰ This is franchisee-principal political conduct and a Zara-focused boycott episode; the source does not establish a Bershka military supply relationship.²⁰

In July 2025 the BDS National Committee officially endorsed a grassroots boycott of Zara, described Zara as Inditex’s flagship brand, identified Bershka among other Inditex brands and called for Inditex to withdraw from Israel.²¹ The campaign document is group/Zara-focused and does not present a verified Bershka defence-contracting relationship.²¹

In 2025, reporting stated that Inditex’s European Works Council called on the group to terminate its Israeli franchise over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and that the council had not received a company response at the time reported.⁷ The demand was directed at Inditex’s Israel franchise relationship; the cited report does not identify a Bershka military contract.⁷

No public evidence identified of an institutional divestment decision or organised campaign specifically grounded in Bershka’s own defence-sector contracting or weapons supply.^{12, 18, 21}

Corporate response and policy statements

No public evidence identified of a Bershka policy change, contract termination or end-use monitoring commitment issued in response to allegations about a Bershka defence supply chain.^{12, 18, 21} The 2025 works-council report stated that no Inditex response had been received by the council at the time of publication.⁷

Controlling principals and constructive notice

The current Inditex governance report identifies the controlling shareholder and board used for principal-level searching.⁴ no public evidence identified in the targeted searches of those disclosed principals of an Israeli defence-prime directorship, a disclosed equity stake in an Israeli defence prime, an FIDF/reservist-fund donation or another verified military-channel act attributable to a controlling Inditex principal.^{4, 8, 9, 11, 12}

Civilian commercial activity in Israel continued after the audit’s requested notice dates: a December 2024 report described new Bershka and Pull&Bear flagship stores at Ofer Grand Mall in Petah Tikva, and Inditex’s FY2025 results still listed 15 Bershka stores in Israel at 31 January 2026.^{13, 5} The ICJ advisory opinion date was 19 July 2024 and the ICC warrant announcement date was 21 November 2024.^{16, 17} These facts establish continued civilian retail presence after those dates; they do not establish military procurement, defence-sector integration or settlement activity.^{5, 13, 16, 17}