3 days ago
Activists legally challenge Garda decision not to probe Airbnb business in Israeli settlements
ACTIVISTS HAVE LAUNCHED a legal challenge against a decision by gardaí not to investigate Airbnb's listings in occupied Palestinian territories last year.
Irish-Palestinian human rights and legal activists have launched a judicial review on foot of the decision by the gardaí's economic crime division last year. It seeks to review whether the correct decision-making processes were followed.
The decision followed a complaint by Irish-Palestinian human rights and legal activists in August 2023, who alleged that the Irish subsidiary of the firm is money-laundering under Irish law.
The Ireland-Palestine Alliance, Sadaka, and the Global Legal Action Network accused Airbnb Ireland of being in breach of Irish money laundering offences, claiming that its parent company allows settlers to list properties in occupied Palestinian territories.
Airbnb Ireland denies accusations of money laundering.
'Airbnb operates in compliance with applicable Irish and US laws,' the company said, adding that since 2019 it has donated all profit generated from listings in the West Bank.
A previous case in the US, which was taken by Israeli settlers after the firm announced it would delist properties in the region, was settled out of court. One condition of that US case was that the company would reverse its decision to remove the listings.
In November, gardaí said the complaint by Sadaka and the Global Legal Action Network did not disclose an offence, according to the activists. The groups' judicial review claims gardaí 'acted irrationally' in reaching the decision.
More than 200 Israeli settlements have been constructed in the occupied West Bank since 1967, covering more than 10% of its territory. More than 100 of these have been granted legal status under Israeli law.
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Speaking in Dublin today, pro-Palestine activists and legal experts said that the outcome of a judicial review could create a potential criminal liability for those conducting business in the regions.
Gerry Liston, a lawyer for the Global Legal Action Network, said the judicial review is the first case of its kind to apply anti-money laundering legislation to commercial activity in illegal Israeli settlements
The director of the Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq, Shawan Jabarin claimed that businesses like Airbnb are providing services that deny Palestinians their means of subsistence and threaten 'the viability of the group'.
'Following the finding by the International Court of Justice, that Israel's occupation is illegal, business activities trading in goods and services that maintain the illegal occupation, must come to an end,' he added.
In a separate Irish action, the Global Legal Action Network and Al-Haq have submitted a complaint to the national contact point for the OECD. That complaint includes a request that Airbnb delist all of its offerings inside occupied Palestinian territories.
Chair of Sadaka, Éamonn Meehan, said it would be in the company's best-interest to do so as the government seeks to ban trade of services between Ireland and Israeli settlements in Palestine under the Occupied Territories Bill 2018.
The bill, which was changed by the government recently to ban only the trading of good between Ireland and occupied Palestinian territories, was introduced to cabinet last month.
Its original author, independent senator Frances Black, is supporting the activists judicial review action in Dublin today.
With reporting by David MacRedmond and Stephen McDermott
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