The Dutch online travel reservation giant Booking.com plans to warn its clients against staying at Israeli properties in Judea and Samaria, Israel’s Channel 13 show “HaTzinor” reported Monday.
“Certain areas affected by conflict may pose a greater risk to travelers, so we provide our customers with information that helps them make decisions and encourage them to check their government’s official travel guidelines as part of the decision-making process,” Booking.com told Ynet.
A text appearing next to certain accommodations — aimed at those who plan to stay at Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria — is to be published this Thursday.
“A visit to this area may be accompanied by an increased risk to safety, human rights and other risks to guests and the local community,” the text will say.
Unlike a similar move several years ago by the Airbnb vacation rentals company, the warning will appear “in other conflict zones in the world” as well, Booking.com told Ynet.
Airbnb Faces U.S. Lawsuit Over Its Boycott of Judea, Samaria
A similar anti-Israeli boycott was carried out in November 2018 by the Airbnb vacation rentals company. The group delisted homes in Judea and Samaria, saying it had adopted a “disputed regions” policy. But that policy, however, applied only to Israeli properties; those in disputed regions elsewhere around the planet were inexplicably spared such a boycott.
Two weeks later, a group of 18 Jewish US citizens – among them several dual US-Israeli citizens – filed a lawsuit against Airbnb in Delaware to charge the firm with discrimination and violation of American housing laws.
The company ultimately dialed back its boycott.
