Booking.com adds travel warnings for West Bank settlements

JERUSALEM (AP) — The online travel agency Booking.com added warnings on Friday to listings in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, following years of pressure from Palestinian officials and human rights groups.

The new alert urges customers searching for rentals in Israeli settlements to review their government's travel advisories before booking in the area, "which may be considered conflict-affected."

Foreign tourism companies like Airbnb, Booking.com and TripAdvisor long have sparked controversy for allowing West Bank settlers to post places for rent, with no mention that these settlements are considered a violation of international law. Many rental sites, from suburban-type settlements near Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem to far-flung outposts deep in the occupied territories, list their location only as Israel.

Some half-million Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians seek these lands as parts of a future independent state.