Corporations profiteering on stolen land
JVL Introduction
The Guardian has carried out detailed research and identified 350 properties (750 rooms) listed as holiday lets including 26 hotels listed on Booking.com and houses and rooms on Air BnB. All are situated in West Bank Settlements, which are illegal under International Law. 18 of the properties were in Settlement outposts, which are even illegal under Israeli law.
In 2018, Air BnB agreed not to operate in the West Bank (although continuing to list places in East Jerusalem (see Airbnb to Exit Israel’s Illegal Settlements) but an Israeli lawsuit led to them reversing that decision.
We welcome this article, the detailed research and the title that emphasises that these profits are being made on stolen land. It also provides useful background information.
Below the full text of the article, are the 26 detailed notes that you can access “interactively” on a map of the West Bank in the original.
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This article was originally published by The Guardian on Thu 27 Feb 2025. Read the original here.
Seized, settled, let: how Airbnb and Booking.com help Israelis make money from stolen Palestinian land
As Israel deploys tanks in the West Bank for the first time in 20 years, we reveal how two of the world’s biggest travel companies are helping settlers commercialise stolen land
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Interesting that they try to pas responsibility on to the traveller, saying ” If a particular region can be categorised as disputed or impacted by conflict, we add information to our platform to help ensure that travellers can make a well-informed choice, or at least consult their government’s official travel advisories as part of their decision-making process”.
This is very disingenuous of them when they fail to list any properties in Cuba!
How will these stolen lands ever be returned to their rightful owners? Putting right the wrongs seems an impossible task when the world sides with the land-grabbers.