Airbnb is listing dozens of properties located in Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land as being inside the state of Israel, raising questions about the technology platform’s legal position in profiting from rentals on the land.
The global accommodation bookings website boasts listings in over 190 countries, including Israel and the “Palestinian Territories”, as the West Bank and Gaza are described on the company’s website. But while a search for Airbnb properties in the Palestinian Territories turns up rentals in the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Nablus, properties in settlements such as Efrat, Ma’ale Rehavam and Tekoa are listed as being in Israel.Those Jewish settlements are beyond “the green line” – the border defined in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between the armies of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria after the 1948 war. Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory are generally viewed as illegal by the international community and have long been seen as a major roadblock to a viable Palestinian state.
Under the Israeli government, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, settlement expansion has surged. The Jewish settler population grew by 23% between 2009 and 2015, to over 400,000 people, in comparison to an overall population growth rate of 9.6% inside Israel.
“People come to us knowing that Efrat is part of the state of Israel, and are not concerned with safety and security issues,” said Lily, the host of a cottage advertised on Airbnb at NIS471 (US$120) per night.
Efrat is a Jewish settlement that was established in 1983 on occupied Palestinian land, 12km south of Jerusalem and 6.5 km east of the green line.
Lily told the Guardian that she has lived in Efrat for 30 years and that her property is “part of Israel”.“This is our country and we mean to stay,” she said.
Guests would have to travel through two Israeli military checkpoints to reach Lily’s cottage. “There are risks everywhere in Israel and in the world – Paris, California, Tel Aviv, Chicago,” she said.
Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas suggested that Airbnb’s platform incorporates an element of choice in location listings, which are powered through Google Maps. Google Maps automatically suggests an address for hosts, but they can choose to change it, and in some cases Google Maps does not automatically suggest a country, Papas said.
“We follow laws and regulations on where we can do business and investigate concerns raised about specific listings,” Papas said, but he would not respond directly to questions regarding which laws and regulations it considers itself bound by.
In locations where both the Israeli and Palestinian governments claim jurisdiction, it’s unclear which country’s rules Airbnb is following.
Airbnb is increasingly popular in Israel, which is home to a thriving tech startup scene. (PriceWaterhouseCooper valued 2014 sales and IPOs of Israeli tech companies at nearly $15bn.) There are 13,000 Airbnb listings in Israel, and in 2014 the company’s rentals were used by 128,000 guests, according to Haaretz.
Husam Zomlot, ambassador at large for Palestine, condemned the company for hosting listings on occupied land.
“It’s not only controversial, it’s illegal and criminal,” Zomlot said. “This website is promoting stolen property and land. There will come a time when companies like this, who profit from the occupation, will be taken to court.”
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