Settler leader hosts top Airbnb official in effort to overturn West Bank boycott

Airbnb’s Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs Chris Lehane meets with Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan in the northern West Bank.

The sit-down comes a day after the vacation rental giant rejected reports that it had walked back its decision to remove listings in Israeli settlements.

Dagan brings Lehane’s delegation to the Barkan Industrial Park where two Israelis were killed in an October terror attack. The settler leader says the Airbnb official was impressed by the continued operation of the site’s factories where both Israeli and Palestinians are employed.

“I was pleased to hear that they opposed the boycott movement. We also agreed that they would consider my request [to walk back their decision] and that the dialogue would continue,” Dagan says in a statement.

— Jacob Magid