Online travel giant Booking.com is facing a criminal complaint filed by a group of human rights organisations in the Netherlands, accusing it of “laundering money from war crimes” related to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
The complaint was filed with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service by the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), Al Haq, SOMO, and the Rights Forum on Thursday, May 23.
“This case is being brought after years of research into Booking.com’s activities in illegal Israeli settlements as part of a longer trajectory of actions on businesses profiting from abuse in OPT. By facilitating the rental of vacation homes on land stolen from the indigenous Palestinian population, Booking.com profits from war crimes.”
statement from the human rights groups
The statement further adds that profiting from war crimes is illegal under Dutch criminal law, and that Booking.com is bringing proceeds of crime into the Dutch financial system, which it termed as “money laundering.”
SOMO revealed that Booking.com listed 70 properties in East Jerusalem and West Bank between 2021 and 2023.
Booking.com claims revenues from renting properties in Israel violate Dutch anti-money laundering rules, while maintaining there are no laws prohibiting listings in Israeli settlements, the peoples’ groups alleged.
When SOMO asked the Booking.com for a response, the company rejected the allegations of illegal activity in Israeli settlements, stating there are no laws prohibiting listings, and suggests US laws might prevent divesting.
“The company’s involvement in Israeli violations of international law also contravenes widely recognised business and human rights (BHR) norms, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which the company explicitly claims to respect.”
said Lydia de Leeuw from Somo
“We have been working on this complaint for years, responding to calls of Palestinians who have seen their property being stolen to end up as profitable vacation homes for settlers on Booking.com.”
“Efforts by human rights groups, activists, and even concerned employees within the company to warn the company about its operations in the OPT have been systematically ignored.”
“These unlawful operations support a system of settler colonialism and radical domination that amounts to apartheid, but companies profiting from those violations and facilitating them hardly face legal scrutiny.”
said Daan de Grefte, ELSC legal officer.
Dr. Susan Power from Al-Haq organization highlighted the “exploitation of Palestinians” and the profit that the companies often derive from such practices.
“Booking.com is exploiting Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people for commercial profit. Palestinians are subjugated, tortured and killed under Israel’s brutal settler colonial apartheid regime.”
“By profiting from the illegal settlement enterprise, Booking.com benefits from the systematic deprivation of the Palestinian people of their lands and natural resources, entrenches the apartheid regime, and frustrates the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to exercise self-determination. This is the ultimate denial of freedom. We demand that Booking.com stop violating the law.”
said Dr Susan Power.
“The Dutch government refuses to take meaningful action against the continued colonization of occupied Palestinian land, or against Dutch companies profiting from these crimes. It’s time to end this impunity and expose the extent of the harm that operations of companies like Booking.com inflict on the indigenous Palestinian population.“
said Edwin van ‘t Pad from The Rights Forum.
After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel captured the West Bank, leading to a flourishing settlement population of nearly half a million people.
Palestinian figures reveal 725,000 settlers live in 176 Jewish-only settlements and 186 outposts in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.
Despite facing international criticism, Israel has maintained control over the area.
Palestinians aim to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as their capital, while Israeli settlers cite Jewish historical connections.
