Palestinian Authority officials praise the Airbnb home-renting company for removing its listings located in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
“We believe Airbnb made the correct decision,” Walid Assaf, head of the PA’s Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, tells The Times of Israel. “Its decision corresponds with the United Nations Security Council resolution 2334.”
UN Security Council resolution 2334 states the establishment of settlements “has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.”
Assaf, who also serves on the Fatah Revolutionary Council, adds that he believes Airbnb’s decision will support efforts to advance the peace process.
“We believe this decision advances the peace process and the two-state solution, which Israel would like to erase through settlement building,” he says. “We call on all companies not to operate in the settlements.”
Abbas adviser Saeb Erekat refers to the decision by Airbnb as “an initial positive step,” but calls on the company to follow suit with its listings in East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, but most of the international community has not accepted the move.
— with Adam Rasgon
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 19, 2018
