Written by: Aintzane Márquez and Lydia de Leeuw
| SOMO – The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations

Drawing upon years of research findings by SOMO and its partners, including Al-Haq and Who Profits, the report exposes the role of arms producers, tech companies, extractive companies, and agribusiness, among others. The Special Rapporteur calls for immediate diplomatic, economic, and legal action, saying that “far too many corporate entities have profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide.”

In her latest report titled From economy of occupation to economy of genocide, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory investigated the complicity of private entities in international crimes connected to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the unlawful occupation across the OPT. These private entities include manufacturing, extractives and platform companies, financial institutions, and academia. Albanese highlights the critical role of such corporations as drivers and enablers of the displacement and replacement of Palestinians, and the urgent need for accountability of these corporate actors.

Far from abstract, these issues are intrinsically linked. Corporate actors fuel structural oppression with finance that, in turn, sustains further violations. One example of this is the active role of online tourism platforms in facilitating Israel’s illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Tourist platforms as gatekeepers of impunity

Referring to previous research done by SOMO and its partner, the Special Rapporteur’s report exposes how tourist platforms “profit from the occupation by selling tourism that sustains the colonies, excludes Palestinians, promotes settler narratives and legitimises annexation. Booking.com and Airbnb are listed as examples. Other platforms like eDreams and Expedia appear in the UN database  of business enterprises involved in settlement-related activities in the OPT. This demonstrates that the business of profiting from settlement-linked activities pervades the travel industry.

In her report, the Special Rapporteur emphasises extensive legal implications for all corporate actors that engage with such illicit money flows: “Where a corporate entity profits from actions that constitute an international crime (e.g., a war crime, genocide, apartheid or an act of aggression), this may also form the predicate crime for an offence under money laundering and proceeds of crime legislation that exists in many domestic jurisdictions, which, if successfully proven, can infect all corporate dealings along the supply chain, such as provision of insurance, tech services, legal accountancy and banking services.”

Disrupting the illicit financial flows through legal action

SOMO advocates for using tools like anti-money laundering legislation to challenge this systemic pattern of impunity, targeting companies across different jurisdictions. Anti‑money laundering laws are derived from EU regulations that require national authorities to track, report, and prevent illicit financial flows. When tourism platforms profit from bookings in illegal settlements through regulated banking and payment systems, they can be flagged as money laundering. In the case of tourist platforms, this means that money generated from accommodations in illegally occupied land that enters regulated financial systems can be considered a violation and prompt further investigation. This mechanism thus criminalises money laundering that knowingly comes from criminal activity.

Using anti-money laundering laws against companies for their involvement in Israel’s crimes is not just a legal theory. It is already driving legal action. In November 2023, SOMO, alongside Al-Haq, the European Legal Support Centre, and The Rights Forum, filed a criminal complaint with the Dutch Public Prosecutor accusing Booking.com of laundering funds obtained from the commission of war crimes in the OPT. “We argued that by listing vacation rentals on stolen land, Booking.com directly profits from war crimes,” SOMO’s strategic litigation lead, Lydia de Leeuw, said. “We argue that the funnelling of these profits through financial systems in the Netherlands — where all proceeds are booked — gives rise to liability under Dutch anti‑money laundering laws.”

Separately, in August 2023, Sadaka Ireland, Al-Haq, and the Global Legal Action Network filed a criminal complaint with Ireland’s Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (part of Ireland’s national police force) against Airbnb Ireland and its senior executives. Following the same legal theory as the Booking.com case, they argued that Airbnb’s listings in illegal Israeli settlements constitute handling proceeds of war crimes, in violation of Irish anti‑money laundering laws. Parallel complaints have been filed in the UK and the US, arguing that settlement-related revenues are illicit.

In all these cases, the profits — laundered through national payment systems — make legal accountability for such platforms possible. However, enforcement is key. National authorities are required to investigate these allegations. If they do not, especially in cases involving profits linked to war crimes, it could amount to a state violating its own obligations under international law.

State complicity: from legal obligation to accountability

According to the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)  in July 2024, states must “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The obligation of states to prevent economic activities in settlements reaffirms the urgency of anti-money laundering litigation targeting tourist platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb. Such platforms continue to offer listings in the OPT, which in turn perpetuates states’ complicity in, and profiting from, war crimes.

Under the UN Genocide Convention, states also have a legal obligation to take all measures reasonably available to them to prevent genocide in Gaza. Therefore, states should at the very least ensure that their nationals and companies domiciled in their jurisdiction are not engaged in activities that constitute or assist in the commission of the crime of genocide. Failing to fulfil such obligations should result in legal consequences.

Act now: building a chain of accountability

The UN Special Rapporteur’s report offers a concrete framework that helps guide the necessary political and legal action. International law is not just aspirational; it provides an actionable basis for litigation. Now is the time for implementation.

Civil society and legal practitioners can use ongoing cases (e.g. Booking.com and Airbnb) as blueprints to test anti-money laundering laws in jurisdictions where companies active in settlements are domiciled.

States and public institutions must enforce the implementation of the ICJ Advisory Opinion and, as recommended in the Special Rapporteur’s report, “to suspend or prevent all trade agreements and investment relations, and impose sanctions, including asset freezes, on entities and individuals involved in activities that may endanger the Palestinians”.

The International Criminal Court and national judiciaries should investigate and prosecute corporate actors which contribute to Israel’s violations of international law, including war crimes, apartheid, and genocide.

The Special Rapporteur has provided us with a powerful legal framework, not only for profiting from settlement liability but also for confronting corporations’ complicity in mass atrocity crimes. It is now the responsibility of civil society and governments to create a chain of accountability. Together, we can break the cycle of colonial profiteering and impunity and ensure that exposure leads to the enforcement of justice, particularly in the wake of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Do you need more information?

Aintzane Márquez
Strategic Litigation Researcher
a.marquez@somo.nl

Lydia de Leeuw
Strategic Litigation Lead
l.deleeuw@somo.nl