Amnesty International has accused some of the world’s biggest online tourism companies of profiting from war crimes by offering services in Israeli settlements.
In a report published today, the human rights organisation said Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Expedia and Booking.com are fuelling human rights violations against Palestinians by listing hundreds of rooms and activities on occupied land.
The Israeli occupation of disputed lands is illegal under international law and the UN Security Council regards the country as an occupying power.
Israel disputes this.
The country captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and has since settled hundreds of thousands of its citizens in the occupied territories.
Warning that the settlements are illegal, Amnesty International called on the online booking companies to stop offering accommodation, activities and attractions in the settlements and accused them of “driving tourism to illegal Israeli settlements and actually contributing to their existence and expansion.”
Its 96-page report, ‘Destination: Occupation’ the organisation warns that in addition to playing “a significant role in driving tourism to the illegal settlements, they also mislead their customers by failing to consistently indicate when listings are located in Israeli settlements.”
The report finds that:
- Airbnb lists over 300 properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
- TripAdvisor lists more than 70 attractions and apartments in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
- Expedia lists nine properties, including four large hotels, in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
- Booking.com lists 45 hotels and properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories
Seema Joshi, Amnesty International’s Director of Global Thematic Issues, said: “Israel’s unlawful seizure of Palestinian land and expansion of settlements perpetuates immense suffering, pushing Palestinians out of their homes, destroying their livelihoods and depriving them of basics like drinking water.”
“Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor model themselves on the idea of sharing and mutual trust, yet they are contributing to these human rights violations by doing business in the settlements.
“It’s time for these companies to stand up for human rights by withdrawing all of their listings in illegal settlements on occupied land.
“War crimes are not a tourist attraction.”
The report comes after Airbnb said it would remove its listings at settlements in the West Bank – however it made no commitment regarding East Jerusalem, where it has over 100 listings.
Hey, @TripAdvisor, we’ve made a more *suitable* promo video to advertise your properties, activities & attractions in illegal Israeli settlements. Check it out. pic.twitter.com/OSfNdBgOng
— Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) January 30, 2019
Responding to the report, the Expedia Group it is “committed to providing transparency to our customers when travelling to disputed territories globally.”
“In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, we identify these accommodations as "Israeli Settlement" located in Palestinian Territory,” it said.
“We are currently reviewing the transparency of our display not only in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but as well as other disputed territories globally.”
Booking.com said its “geographic labelling of properties gives full transparency to customers about where an accommodation is located.”
“By marking properties concerned as being in 'Israeli settlements' we provide transparency to anybody looking (or not looking) for accommodations in these territories,” it said.
Airbnb and TripAdvisor did not respond to Amnesty’s request for comment.
