Top news stories from Israel/Palestine: November 20, 2018

What We’re Reading

BDS and Settlement boycotts

Airbnb to End Settlement Rentals,

The decision by Airbnb to stop listing properties in unlawful Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is a positive step that other global tourism companies should follow, Human Rights Watch and Kerem Navot said in issuing a report today about the activities of Airbnb and Booking.com in settlements.

Israel to turn to U.S. government over Airbnb removal of settlement listings,

“We will approach the U.S. government because 25 U.S. states have sanctions against American companies that boycott Israel,” Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said on Israeli Army Radio.

Bed and Breakfast on Stolen Land: Tourist Rental Listings in West Bank Settlements,

A 65-page report from Human Rights Watch & FMEP grantee Kerem Navot documents how the global travel companies Airbnb and Booking.com are listing and facilitating the rental of dozens of properties in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Quakers first UK church to boycott companies profiting from Israeli occupation,

Britain’s Quakers announced on Monday that they will not invest any of their centrally held funds in companies that are profiting from Israel’s occupation of Palestine, making it the first church in the United Kingdom to do so.

Occupation/Human rights

[PDF] Cookie Crackdown,

Inexplicably, Israel continues to impose a ban on the exit of processed foods from Gaza to markets in the West Bank and Israel, thwarting economic activity and growth in one of Gaza’s most promising sectors.

Al-Haq Warns Third States and Gas Companies Against Bidding for Gas Licenses in Disputed Waters off the Israeli and Palestinian Coast,

The licenses represent a further attempt to alter, the facts of the sea, in order to create a massive expanded Exclusive Economic Zone for Israel.