New

Events

In Focus

Seized, settled, let: how Airbnb and Booking.com help Israelis make money from stolen Palestinian land

Details
Written by Zeke Hunter-Green, Carmen Aguilar García, Anna Leach, Mark Townsend, Pamela Duncan and Prina Shah | The Guardian Zeke Hunter-Green, Carmen Aguilar García, Anna Leach, Mark Townsend, Pamela Duncan and Prina Shah | The Guardian
Published: 27 February 2025 27 February 2025

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

 

The villa is stunning. The private swimming pool; the lush, landscaped terrace with firepit; the long dining table with its expansive balcony view; the pingpong table; the piano.

But the jewel in the crown, according to the Airbnb listing, is the experience of watching the sun rise over the nearby mountains from the luxury of the generous master bedroom.

The villa with views of the Judean mountains is in a settlement located on land seized from Palestinians and considered illegal under international humanitarian law.

Only a handful of Palestinians are allowed to enter this, and other, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, usually as labourers with special permits.

Exclusive analysis carried out by the Guardian found 760 rooms being advertised in hotels, apartments and other holiday rentals in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, on two of the world’s most popular tourism websites.

Taken together, the listings that appear on either Airbnb or Booking.com could host more than 2,000 people as of August 2024. The villa was just one of them.

Read more on The Guardian

Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.