How Airbnb and RE/MAX Profit From Israel’s Colonization of Palestine

Two American companies—Airbnb and RE/MAX—are making money from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. And that’s not all: They also legitimize the colonization of Palestine by listing the properties, which are in violation of international law, on their sites as though they are part of Israel.

From Salon:

Housing rental giant Airbnb profits off of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, Al Jazeera revealed in a new report.

The website lists segregated settlements in the occupied West Bank as if they were in Israel. In reality, these settlements were built in direct violation of international law, and are not legally considered part of the country. […] The Guardian faced backlash for originally titling its report “Airbnb lists properties in illegal settlements on disputed land in Israel.” The land it discussed in its article, however, is not in Israel. Moreover, it is not “disputed”; it is occupied Palestinian territory that has been illegally military occupied by Israel since 1967.

International real estate giant RE/MAX, which is headquarted in Colorado, also profits off of illegal settlements.

More than 20 agents for its franchise RE/MAX Israel sell millions of U.S. dollars worth of illegal properties in the West Bank. RE/MAX Israel agents often list settlements on their websites as their areas of specialty, without making any indication that these territories are considered illegal under international law.

Like Airbnb, RE/MAX lists these properties as if they were in Israel, and makes no indication that they are in militarily occupied land.

Read more here.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata