Airbnb has announced that it will remove nearly 200 listings in the West Bank, according to reporting by AXIOS. The company says it applied a five-part checklist to evaluate listings in territories under occupation and determined these specific West Bank properties should be delisted.
The move follows sustained public pressure: more than 150,000 people signed a petition calling for the removal of vacation rentals in the West Bank, and protests took place at Airbnb offices worldwide.
“There’s no delicate way to say this: for years, Airbnb profited from rental suites built on top of the ruins of Palestinian lives and livelihoods,” said Angus Wong, campaign manager at SumOfUs, a coalition member advocating for the change.
Wong and others criticized Airbnb for taking too long to act. They argue that by listing homes on occupied land for years, the company helped normalize and legitimize settlements and, in doing so, contributed to a broader system of occupation, discrimination and dispossession. Advocates say they will continue to monitor Airbnb to ensure no more properties built on confiscated Palestinian land are offered on the platform. They also urged the company to consider reparative steps, such as directing profits derived from the now-removed listings to Palestinian organizations that provide services amid the occupation.
Under international law, most Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal. Reports also noted that some of the listings were categorized as being “in Israel” on the platform, without clarifying their actual location in the West Bank.
Airbnb’s decision is part of an ongoing debate over the responsibilities of global tech and hospitality companies when operating in disputed or occupied territories. The company’s checklist and the exact criteria it used to identify the listings were not fully detailed in the reporting available, but the action reflects growing scrutiny from activists, users and the broader public about how commercial platforms handle properties in conflict zones.
Moving forward, advocates and observers will likely watch for how Airbnb implements its policy across other contested areas and whether it adopts additional safeguards, transparency measures or remedies for communities affected by listings on its platform. For now, the removal of these nearly 200 West Bank listings marks a notable response to sustained campaigning and heightened public attention to the issue.