Israel steps up boycott fight after Airbnb settlement ban
KFAR ADUMIM, West Bank (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it would slap high taxes on vacation rental company Airbnb and encourage legal steps against the site over its decision to ban listings from West Bank settlements.
The threats of sanctions ramp up Israel’s fight against a global movement advocating for boycotts over the country’s treatment of the Palestinians. The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign, also known as BDS, has claimed a number of successes in recent years, leading Israel to identify it as a major threat.
Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin called on Airbnb to reverse what he called a “discriminatory decision” and “disgraceful surrender” to the boycott movement, vowing that Israel would retaliate.
“If you have a policy of discrimination against Israelis you cannot earn money in Israel,” he told The Associated Press.
He also said the government would encourage hosts in West Bank settlements to sue the company to make it “pay” for its decision. Levin added that Israel would impose other restrictions on Airbnb’s operations in the country, without elaborating.
Airbnb announced on Monday that it would delist some 200 properties in the coming days and cease its operations in Israeli settlements “that are at the core of the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians.” The company declined to comment on the Israeli threats.
Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Today over 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, in addition to some 200,000 Israelis in east Jerusalem.
Most of the international community considers settlements illegal and an impediment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Israel sees the territory as disputed and says the fate of the settlements must be resolved in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
The boycott movement, which calls for sanctions against settlement products and companies doing business in the West Bank, has made inroads in recent years, helping to tarnish Israel’s international image and prompting it to take retaliatory measures.