Civil groups push for prosecution in Booking.com money laundering case

The Netherlands: A group of civil society organisations is calling on Dutch prosecutors to move forward with a criminal case against Booking.com over listings in Israeli settlements.

The group – composed of SOMO, Al-Haq, the European Legal Support Centre and The Rights Forum – filed a criminal complaint against the company in November 2023, alleging it was involved in money laundering linked to listings in Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem.

The organisations have now initiated a legal procedure asking a Dutch appeals court to assess the merits of their complaint, following what they describe as a prolonged lack of action by the Public Prosecution Service after what the organisations describe as years of research into settlement-linked listings

Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are widely regarded as illegal under international law. The complainants argue that business activity connected to those settlements generates proceeds that may constitute money laundering under Dutch law, as revenues pass through the Netherlands’ financial system.

Separately, humanitarian organisations have reported rising levels of violence and displacement in the West Bank. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the monthly average of Palestinians displaced in 2026 has risen to more than four times the 2025 average.

SOMO litigation lead Lydia de Leeuw said the outcome of the case could “set an important precedent for corporate accountability regarding business activities linked to war crimes”.

“The Palestinian people are facing escalating erasure under Israel’s genocidal settler-colonial apartheid regime,” Al-Haq general director Shawan Jabarin said. “At the same time, corporations not only profit from these international crimes but also actively sustain illegal settlements and an unlawful occupation. With Palestinian land being illegally appropriated at an unprecedented level, human rights violations intensifying and settlements growing at an alarming pace, any further delay in accountability risks allowing this erasure to go unchecked.”

Since filing the complaint, the organisations say Booking.com has increased the number of listings in East Jerusalem.

A The Guardian analysis found that, as of August 2024, more than 760 rooms were advertised across Airbnb and Booking.com in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The organisations acknowledged that a case of this magnitude could take time, but said they believe it is sufficiently clear-cut for prosecutors to proceed.

“I have never seen the Public Prosecution Service take approximately two and a half years to investigate a complaint without reaching any conclusion,” criminal lawyer Willem Jebbink said. “My clients consider a criminal investigation to be urgently necessary, as serious violations of international law continue in the West Bank.”

The appeals court must now decide whether further investigation is required or whether prosecutors should be directed to proceed with the case.

Highlights:

• Dutch civil society organisations are urging prosecutors to advance a criminal case against Booking.com over listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
• The groups — including SOMO and Al-Haq — allege the company may be involved in money laundering linked to settlement-based listings.
• The complainants argue that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and that related business activity could generate proceeds of crime under Dutch law.
• A Dutch appeals court will now assess whether prosecutors should proceed with further investigation or consider bringing charges.
• A The Guardian investigation found more than 760 rooms listed across Airbnb and Booking.com in West Bank settlements, based on August 2024 data.
• UN data shows displacement in the West Bank in 2026 has risen to more than four times the monthly average recorded in 2025.
• The organisations say the case could set a precedent for corporate accountability over business activities linked to alleged violations of international law.