JERUSALEM: Online travel agency Booking.com announced on Monday it would add warnings to listings in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, becoming the latest foreign company to enter one of the world's most controversial debates.
Booking.com said customers who book accommodation in Israeli settlements should be aware that they are traveling to a "disputed, conflict-affected, or high-risk" area that "may pose a greater risk." Is." Is."
According to the Associated Press, the company is still working on the language of security warnings for the Israeli-occupied West Bank and some other regions around the world. It was not specified when the alert would go into effect.
The move comes at a time when violence in the West Bank has killed at least 85 Palestinians in Israeli raids on towns and villages this year. The Israeli military said on Monday that a vehicle caught fire while passing through a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank. There were no reported injuries. Israel's foreign ministry declined to comment.
Most of the world considers settlements built on lands occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war to be a violation of international law. In the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, 700,000 Jewish settlers remain. These lands have been requisitioned by the Palestinians as part of a future independent state.
Online travel companies such as Airbnb and Booking.com have long faced pressure from Palestinian authorities, activists and human rights organizations to remove their listings from the country.
But if they do, they run the risk of angering Israel. There have been accusations of anti-Semitism by Israel and its supporters, who support an anti-Israeli boycott, including products made in the settlements. After lawsuits in the United States and Israel, Airbnb abandoned its plan to restrict listings in settlements in 2019.
Ben & Jerry's has been embroiled in a similar controversy. Last year, the Vermont company sparked outrage in Israel by announcing that it would no longer sell its products in the occupied West Bank.
However, Ben & Jerry's ice cream would be available again in the occupied territories after parent company Unilever sold the brand's Israeli business to a local licensee.
Booking.com's announcement focuses on security rather than the legality or legality of settlements. According to some Israelis, the disclaimer demonstrated that Israel's pressure had paid off.
This shows that Booking.com has taken note of the huge losses Airbnb and Ben & Jerry's have done themselves by boycotting Israel-controlled territories," said Eugene Kontorovich, director of the International Law Department at the Kohlet Policy Forum. A conservative Israeli think tank "At the same time, they want to throw a bone at anti-Israeli activists."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, praised the travel advisory as a decision to "recognize the reality of business and human rights violations" and urged other foreign corporations to follow suit. requested. requested.
Booking.com said its security banner for the West Bank would be similar to the security banner currently displayed in Ukraine or Cyprus. The Alert for Ukraine website warns travelers of "increased risks to the safety of customers at this location" and advises them to "review travel guidelines for the region provided by your government".
The company declined to comment on whether the warnings would also apply to Palestinian properties in the West Bank, such as those in Hebron and Ramallah.
Five Syrian troops were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Damascus airport
Israeli PM meets UAE FM to mark 2nd anniversary of diplomatic ties
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Holocaust survivors arrive in Berlin