According to a report released Friday by the UN’s human rights office, more than 150 businesses, including four of the biggest online lodging platforms, are operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that the UN’s highest court has ruled are unlawful.
The list, which was last revised in 2023 and now has 68 additional names, totaling 158, still includes US companies Airbnb ABNB.O, Expedia, and TripAdvisor TRIP.O, as well as Netherlands-based Booking.com BV.
Heidelberg Materials AG HEIG.DE, a significant German cement manufacturer, is one of the new entrants to the list. The company told Reuters that it was no longer operating in occupied Palestinian land and that it had contested the inclusion. Seven previously listed companies were removed.
Every company on the list engaged in at least one of the ten practices that the rights office deemed to be particularly concerning for human rights. The listed lodging platforms did not immediately answer requests for comment from Reuters.
Israel contests the 2024 UN court decision, claiming that the Palestinian region is not legally occupied due to land disputes, citing biblical and historical connections to the West Bank. The majority of the global community endorses the UN’s stance.
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