Airbnb takes down settlement listings
AIRBNB IS to remove its listings for Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The home-renting company said approximately 200 homes in the territories would be taken off its website after it had considered whether their existence was “contributing to existing human suffering”.
“Many in the global community have stated that companies should not do business here because they believe companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced,” Airbnb said in a statement. “Others believe that companies should not withdraw business operations from these areas.
“We are most certainly not the experts when it comes to the historical disputes in this region.
“Our team has wrestled with this issue and we have struggled to come up with the right approach.”
The company “concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians,” it added.
The approximately 200 Airbnb listings in Israeli West Bank settlements started at £16 for a double bedroom in a flat in Ariel.
A house that sleeps 12 in Shilo, with hot tub and sweeping views across the Biblical Shiloh Valley, was available for £84 a night.
“This decision is appalling in its hypocrisy, outrageous in its discrimination, and counterproductive in its effects,” Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said on Wednesday.
“Airbnb operates in 191 countries, in which there are dozens of disputed Around 200 settlement homes, including this one in Shilo, are on Airbnb
territories. Yet Airbnb hasn’t decided to de-list properties in any of them. Only in Israel.
“All those who support Israel and oppose discriminatory boycotts
should cease using Airbnb and turn to other services.” He said Israel was examining “numerous courses of action” including possible legal action in the US and France.