Airbnb Denies Policy Change

Airbnb has denied reports earlier on Monday that it agreed to suspend its recent decision to remove sites in Yehudah and Shomron from its rental listings.

The company issued a statement saying that those reports were “inaccurate,” but that it did express its “unequivocal rejection of the BDS movement and communicated its commitment to develop its business in Israel,” according to Reuters.

Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin announced that Airbnb had decided not to enforce its boycott policy against homes over the Green Line and called it “a step in the right direction.”

Airbnb also issued a statement in Hebrew saying that the policy would not be implemented, which appeared identical to the one issued by the Tourism Ministry.

“A delegation of senior executives from Airbnb, headed by Vice President Chris Lanhan, held a meeting in Yerushalayim today with Tourism Minister Yariv Levin,” the Hebrew statement read. “At the end of the meeting, Airbnb announced that the policy will not be implemented in practice. Airbnb will continue its dialogue with the Israeli government,” as reported by Arutz Sheva, which asked in a headline, “Is Airbnb backtracking again?”

Airbnb has so far not responded to requests for clarification.