The non-profit Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) filed the complaint with the Dutch public prosecutor back in November alongside three other human rights groups – the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Al-Haq and the Rights Forum. However, it was only recently that they went public with the suit.
The plaintiffs accused Booking.com, which is based in Amsterdam, of "profiting from war crimes by facilitating the rental of vacation homes on land stolen from the indigenous Palestinian population." The website is alleged to have advertised accommodations and "experiences" in illegally occupied Palestinian territories, in particular those in the West Bank.
Brechje van de Moosdijk, spokeswoman for the Dutch National Public Prosecutor's office, said prosecutors are studying the complaint. However, she added that they couldn't give a timeline for a decision on possible further steps. (Related: 13 Countries join South Africa’s case against Israel on genocide in Gaza.)
The complaint highlighted Booking.com's alleged complicity in Israeli genocide as detailed in a report by Don't Buy Into Occupation (DBIO), a coalition of 25 European and Palestinian NGOs including the ELSC. The DBIO report, in turn, exposed the involvement of European financial institutions in funding businesses that support and legitimize Israel's illegal settlements and apartheid against Palestinians.
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Moreover, the DBIO report meticulously documents the various ways Western companies "play a critical role in the functioning, sustainability, and expansion of illegal settlements." Among the companies mentioned is Caterpillar, a heavy machinery manufacturer whose armored bulldozers are used to demolish Palestinian homes and construct Jewish settlements. Another mentioned is Elbit Systems – Israel's largest arms manufacturer – which produces bullets, drones, combat vehicles, electronic warfare systems and missiles for use during the ongoing genocide.
Other booking websites also involved
"Settlements are illegal under international law, cause systemic human rights violations, constitute a war crime and are harmful to any prospect of justice and peace," said Daan de Grefte of the ELSC. "These settlements also form an integral part of a system of racial domination that amounts to apartheid."
"Several major online tourism companies offer services in the Occupied Territories, which contravene these companies' own human rights commitments, while also legitimizing Israel's unlawful policy of colonizing the West Bank. By operating in the settlements, they exacerbate human rights harms to the local Palestinian population."
It's not just Booking.com that's involved in the matter. Airbnb reportedly lists "a large number of Israeli settlements" on its platform, with these properties based in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Syria's Golan Heights.
"In most cases, the descriptions of the properties name the settlement location, but the properties are listed as being located in 'Israel' and do not inform potential visitors that the accommodation is located [in the Occupied Territories]," DBIO noted in its report.
In November 2018, Airbnb announced it would remove around 200 listings in settlements, "at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians." But the company was forced to backtrack with the decision six months later due to multiple lawsuit in both the U.S. and Israel.
Spanish travel company eDreams and U.S.-based Expedia Group, which operates portals like Hotels.com and Trivago, are also involved in advertising properties in illegal Jewish settlements without informing customers of their unlawful status. Customers are not informed about the settlements’ illegal status under international law. The company instead categorizes these listings as being "in line with applicable law" while claiming to manually remove "illicit" properties if they are identified by its staff, or flagged by website visitors.
Massachusetts-based Tripadvisor and its Viator subsidiary go further by promoting tours and activities in these settlements, including tours of wineries built on illegally appropriated Palestinian land, including one situated at Tel Shiloh, built on stolen Palestinian land and managed by a local settler council.
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Watch this video of pro-Palestine protesters in Belfast, Northern Island removing Israeli products from a supermarket there.
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More related stories:
‘Genocide denial’: US Congress passes amendment denying Gaza death toll.
Genocide case against Israel gets underway at International Court of Justice.
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