Airbnb and Booking offer set-aside land accommodation to Palestinians
Hundreds of houses, hotels or apartments are located on the land occupied by Israel in the Palestine Strip. They spawn the UN.
The BDS International movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) has sent a video to the networks in a satirical tone representing an announcement of tourist action. Israel has listed the tourist attractions it has in the occupied territories, as you can read in El Salto.
Among the hundreds of accommodation offers in the occupied territories, the BDS video cites, first of all, "a beautiful house" in the settlement of Eli. This urbanization, like 170 other developments in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Upper Golan, is illegal. That is what the United Nations, and also the United States, the European Union and most of the countries on the planet are saying.
"Come to Eli and know Zionism."
The Palestinian peoples of As-Sawiya and Qaryut are currently Israeli colonies in the territory of Eli, where more than 5,000 people live, the Police has reported. There is a prestigious military academy for the Israeli army, led by far-right rabbi Eliezer Kashtiel, Bnei David, in which the young people preparing for military service are taught that the Palestinians are "genetically lower" and for that reason they must be "slaves."
In the video, BDZ notes that attacks on Palestinians and land seizures have at least doubled in that area. In general, throughout the West Bank: Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli authorities have destroyed, torn down, forced to demolish or require more than 1,500 spaces or buildings in the West Bank, forced to displace 3,500 Palestinians, more than 700 deaths, more than 11,000 detainees... Of the ten arrests, eight have taken place without formal charges or trials, according to the NGO.
More accommodations in the large colonies
Modi'in Illit is the largest colony in the world. It was occupied by Israel in 2008 and some 70,000 settlers live in it. On the network you can find dozens of accommodation options. The same is true of Guiv'at Ze'even. The latter is not an officially occupied territory, but is only three kilometres from Ramallah, the capital of the headquarters of the Palestinian National Authority.
In the next photo, a hostel in Guiv'at Ze'even, on Airbnb.
Or see the following example: In the Israeli colony of Geva Binyarmin, where over 5,000 people live, in the Jaba region, Booking offers luxury accommodation.
In addition, the Airbnb company makes a hundred offers in the Upper Golan, a land dependent on Syria until the 1967 war.
Israeli occupation supported by tourism activities
The international community condemns Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and the United Nations Office for Human Rights, for example, has spoken out against the economic promotion of those territories. Among other statements, points out that "it is not fair" to have entrepreneurial activities that maintain, expand and economically reinforce these developments.
But it's useless. More than 700,000 Israelis live in the 170 settlements considered "illegal" by the UN, where tourist activities can be found. The information can be found in Justice Info.
It's not just a matter of Airbnb or Booking. The UN has also targeted a number of other companies: TripAdvisor and eDreams for instance. According to the UN, these companies are guilty of maintaining and operating these illegal locations, which make the colony legitimate and economically stronger. The UN has drawn up a list: The occupation is directly supported by 112 companies.
According to a report by the NGO Human Rights Watch, Booking is one of the main players in the construction of new infrastructures. According to this information, the US company finances the "reconstruction" of the possessions of the Palestinians left to the Israeli settlers and then the reorientation towards tourist activities.
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few years ago, other hopes were raised. Thanks to the campaign launched by the BDS movement, pressure has led to Airbnb coming back in Israel, although U.S. regulations allow it to do business in those stolen foreign lands.
In November 2018, the company said Israel would withdraw the 200 advertisements it had in the occupied territories, claiming "questions of conscience". Israel's then-Minister of Tourism, Benjamin Netanyahu, strongly criticized for maintaining a "miserable" and "cowardly" attitude towards Israel.
The case continued in a limbo. It lasted five months: at a major stock board, the company had just published a statement rejecting everything it had said so far. He expressed his commitment to continue as if nothing had happened, placing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan High among his goals.
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