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Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Business
- Middle East Eye
Rights groups accuse Airbnb over listings in illegal Israeli settlements
Rights groups have called for the UK's National Crime Agency to investigate Airbnb over alleged money laundering offences they say it may have committed by listing holiday properties in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. Airbnb, according to two legal organisations which have brought the complaint, may have violated laws that make it an offence to handle money and property knowingly derived from criminal acts through its more than 300 listings in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. On Tuesday, the organisations - the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq - announced that they have filed a criminal complaint with the National Crime Agency over Airbnb's UK subsidiary. Airbnb is currently listed in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights' database of businesses involved in activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The filed complaint, one of several coordinated efforts announced on Tuesday, comes after the International Court of Justice July 2024 ruling that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'At a time when we are witnessing genocide in Palestine, businesses like Airbnb are providing services that deny the Palestinian people their means of subsistence, threatening the viability of the group,' said Shawan Jabarin, general director of Al-Haq. '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.' In 2018, following a Human Rights Watch report which said that Airbnb's listings in settlements were unlawful under international humanitarian law, the company said it would remove listings in the settlements. But the company decision was reversed after legal action was brought in the US by hosts and guests of the listed properties, with Airbnb saying it would donate all proceeds from the rentals to humanitarian organisations. A spokesperson for Airbnb said on Tuesday that the company operates "in compliance with applicable Irish and US laws". "Since 2019, Airbnb has donated all profits generated from host activity in the West Bank to an international nonprofit, in line with our global framework on disputed territories," the spokesperson said. In addition to the complaint filed in the UK, Glan has also filed a legal challenge at Ireland's High Court after the Irish police refused to investigate the role of Airbnb Ireland in facilitating the listings of settlements. Additionally, Glan has sent a 'preservation letter' to Airbnb's parent company, the first step in proceedings under the US Foreign Legal Assistance statute which allow for the discovery of documents to support the Irish and UK actions. Glan senior lawyer Gerry Liston said: 'These are the first ever cases to apply anti-money laundering legislation in the UK and elsewhere to business activity in the illegal Israeli settlements. "They demonstrate that senior executives of companies profiting from Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory risk prosecution for a very serious criminal offence.'
The Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- The Journal
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. Advertisement 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 Need more clarity and context on what is happening in the Middle East? Check out our new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online. Visit Knowledge Bank Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Middle East Eye
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Over 230 global NGOs say all F-35 exports to Israel are unlawful
More than 230 global civil society organisations, including those taking legal action in five different countries, are calling on governments producing F-35 fighter jets to immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel. 'The past 16 months have illustrated with devastating clarity that Israel is not committed to complying with international law,' the organisations wrote in a letter released on Tuesday. They welcomed the temporary ceasefire in Gaza, but warned that its fragility risks further Israeli violations while also highlighting Israel's use of military fighter jets in the occupied West Bank. The letter said that F-35 partner countries 'have individually and collectively failed' to stop the jets from being used to commit serious violations of international law 'despite overwhelming evidence'. 'States have either been unwilling to observe their international legal obligations and/or claimed that the structure of the F-35 programme means that it is not possible to apply arms controls to any end-user, making the entire programme incompatible with international law,' they wrote. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The letter was sent to government ministers in F-35 partner countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK where signatories have taken legal action to try to halt arms exports to Israel. Top Dutch court advised to uphold export ban of F-35 components to Israel Read More » The organisations said that 'a number of incoherent positions' had been put forward by F-35 partners, including the UK, which allow for the continued export of the fighter jet's parts and components destined for Israel while suspending other arms licences. By continuing to export these parts, even indirectly, the organisations say that all partner countries are violating international and domestic legal obligations which have been reinforced by findings at the International Court of Justice. Shawan Jabarin, the general director of Al-Haq, a Palestinian NGO which is involved in several of the legal challenges including the one in the UK, said Israeli air strikes have 'devastated Gaza', repeatedly targeting densely populated areas, alleged 'safe zones' and shelters. At least 90 percent of Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced. 'The overwhelming evidence of Israel's grave violations of international law makes the F-35 partner nations - all of which are signatories to the Geneva Conventions, with the majority also having ratified the Arms Trade Treaty - complicit in these actions,' Jabarin said. He said it was 'imperative' for states to uphold their duties under international law and 'collectively ensure that F-35 jets and components no longer reach Israel, halting further complicity in these international crimes'. Decision by consensus The F-35 programme currently has no track-and-trace capability to allow for parts destined for specific countries to be halted without disrupting the global fleet. Court documents filed last month in the UK legal challenge revealed that under a 2006 memorandum of understanding between the participating states, the F-35 programme is overseen by an executive steering board chaired by the US and composed of representatives from other countries involved. According to the court documents, the board makes decisions by consensus, so all participant states would have to agree for components being used in Israel F-35s to be limited. UK looked for ways to suspend F-35 parts to Israel, court documents reveal Read More » The UK government has acknowledged that there is a clear risk that Israel may commit war crimes using F-35s, but has said it could not suspend the parts without disrupting the entire F-35 fleet and threatening global peace and security "within weeks". Gearoid O Cuinn, director of the UK-based Global Legal Action Network which is also challenging the UK, said: "The UK government's position is that Israel can commit whatever depraved atrocity it pleases in Palestine, and nothing will stop the supply of British war plan components. "In taking this indefensible position, the UK government has shamelessly put US interests and arms contracts above its own international legal obligations.' Marte Hansen Haugan, president of Changemaker, a youth NGO in Norway, which is an F-35 partner country, said it was 'horrifying to know' that her country was among those enabling Israel to kill civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. 'The unwillingness to halt or pause the production of F-35 components reflects an interpretation of national and international law that excludes Palestinian lives,' Haugan said. Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with Palestinian civil defence officials estimating that 10,000 more bodies may still remain under rubble.
