Booking.com needs to take a stand against occupation by de-listing properties located on stolen land in Israeli settlements
The popular global tourism company Airbnb recently announced its decision to de-list properties in illegal Israeli settlements, a move which Human Rights Watch (HRW) praised as “a stand against discrimination, displacement, and land theft.”
Now it’s time for Booking.com to follow suit.
Booking.com stated to HRW that it merely provides a platform for rental, which it claims does not support settlements.
But that is just not the case.
Booking.com needs to recognize that, while its intention is to remain impartial, its laissez-faire policy actually harms the people of Palestine and bolsters a belligerent state.
HRW’s business and human rights director Arvind Ganesan explained that global tourism companies “contribute to entrenching a two-tiered discriminatory regime in the West Bank” when they list properties in illegal Israeli settlements. They also provide an economic boost and perpetuate the illusion that settlements are legitimate – when in reality they are built on stolen Palestinian land, and illegal under international humanitarian law.
