The US home-sharing company Airbnb has announced it will continue to list Jewish settler homes in the occupied West Bank, in a reversal of a previous decision.
The announcement came after Israeli lawyers filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of property hosts and others, following the decision last year by Airbnb that it would remove such listings.
That move had come after years of accusations that the company was benefitting from rentals in the illegal outposts.
On Tuesday night, after admitting it was a controversial issue, Airbnb said in a news release that it was settling all lawsuits brought by hosts and potential hosts and guests who had objected to its most recent policy.
Although US law allows companies to conduct business in occupied territories, the company had decided to pull out of the West Bank region in November 2018.
While the properties in the West Bank will now be listed, the company said it will not accept profits from the area and will instead donate to charity such revenue made.
“Airbnb will not move forward with implementing the removal of listings in the West Bank from the platform,” the San Francisco-based company said on Tuesday .
“We will continue to allow listings throughout all of the West Bank, but Airbnb will take no profits from this activity in the region.”
Many Palestinian activists have expressed disapproval of the latest decision. The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights released a statement calling the decision “shameful” and “a blatant attempt to whitewash reality”. Online, many users are calling the hospitality site a disgrace and lacking in morals.
About 200 homes were to be affected by the AirBnB decision in the West Bank. Other disputed territories, including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem remain unaffected, the company said.
In both news releases, the company emphasized that it does not support movements to boycott Israel.
The newly re-elected prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, had said he planned to annex the West Bank if he won the election. Many are already calling it a further act of aggression on the Palestinian territories.
