BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Online booking giants Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor are fueling human rights violations against Palestinians by listing hundreds of rooms and activities in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem, Amnesty International (AI) said on Wednesday.
In Amnesty International's new report entitled "Destination: Occupation," the organization documents how online booking companies are driving tourism to illegal Israeli settlements and contributing to their existence and expansion.
In November, Airbnb pledged to remove all listings in settlements in the occupied West Bank, however it did not extend its commitment to occupied East Jerusalem, which is also occupied territory, and where it has more than 100 listings in settlements.
AI called on Airbnb to implement its announcement and remove all its listings in settlements in occupied territory, including East Jerusalem. AI also said that Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor should remove all their listings in the OPT.
All four companies in Amnesty International’s report have listings in settlements including East Jerusalem.
Airbnb currently has more than 300 listings of properties in settlements in the OPT. TripAdvisor lists more than 70 different attractions, tours, restaurants, caf s, hotels and rental apartments in settlements in the OPT. Booking.com lists 45 hotels and rentals in settlements in the OPT. Expedia lists nine accommodation providers, including four large hotels, in settlements in the OPT.
“Tourists coming here are brainwashed, they are lied to, they do not know this is our land,” said a Palestinian farmer living next to illegal Shiloh settlement, where the Israeli government is funding a large visitor centre to draw tourists to an archaeological site.
AI’s report highlights how the Israeli government allows and encourages settlers to exploit land and natural resources that belong to Palestinians, and how Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor also benefit from this exploitation.
AI called on individual companies to stop doing business in and with the settlements, as well as calling on governments worldwide to make this mandatory through regulation, and to introduce laws prohibiting the import of settlement goods.
The Irish Senate is currently in the process of approving a landmark bill that prohibits the import and sale of goods, services and natural resources originating in illegal settlements in occupied Palestine and Amnesty International is calling on other countries to follow this lead.