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AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA is to reconsider a decision to not investigate accusations of money laundering by Airbnb related to its hosting of rental properties in occupied Palestinian territory following a High Court order today.
The case was taken against the Gardaí by a Palestinian individual and Sadaka, the Ireland Palestine Alliance.
In a statement, a Garda spokesperson said: “Following a High Court order on Thursday, 16 October 2025, An Garda Síochána can confirm that this matter is under assessment by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.”
Airbnb has hundreds of properties on its platform in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in Palestine, all of which are illegal under international law, a status confirmed in a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice.
It committed to removing the West Bank properties in 2018 but reversed the decision following legal action taken against it in Israel and the United States.
The original complaint was made against Airbnb’s Irish subsidiary and its senior executives to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) in 2023, alleging the company is complicit in war crimes related to the Israeli settlements and money laundering offences in connection with Airbnb Ireland’s role in hosting the listings.
In November 2024, the GNECB declined to open an investigation, stating that the complaint disclosed no offence within the jurisdiction of Ireland.
In May of this year, the anonymous Palestinian person and Sadaka challenged the Gardaí’s refusal to launch an investigation.
They were represented by Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), a UK-based legal non-profit organisation.
GLAN has argued that because Airbnb operates in illegally occupied territory, it is associated with the war crimes and crimes against humanity involved in establishing and maintaining the Israeli settlements.
“The acts of land appropriation, displacement and transfer of civilian population into occupied territory that facilitate the Israeli settlements are defined as war crimes and crimes against humanity under both international law and related Irish legislation,” GLAN said in a statement today.
“It is an offence under Irish anti-money laundering laws to handle money or other property derived from such criminal acts.”
A spokesperson for Airbnb said it “operates in compliance with applicable laws in Ireland”. They added, “Since 2019, Airbnb’s policy has been to donate all profits generated from the very small number of bookings in the entire West Bank.”
GLAN, which has also taken a similar case in the UK, said today’s success has broken new legal ground and that it was the first court case to apply money laundering legislation to business activity in the Israeli settlements.
Sadaka chair Éamonn Meehan said today’s result demonstrates why the government “must ban services linked to the Israeli settlements”.
“To exclude activities such as those carried out by Airbnb would be a flagrant breach of Ireland’s international law obligations to ban trade with the settlements.”
Whether services will be included alongside goods in legislation banning trade with Israeli settlements in Palestine has been the subject of a long-drawn-out debate between the government and opposition parties.
Independent Senator Frances Black, who first introduced the Bill in 2018, said yesterday she was “extremely concerned” that trade in services could be excluded.
Black’s concern was prompted by comments made by Taoiseach Micheál Martin this week.
Martin told the Dáil: “The feedback I am getting is it is not just implementable.”
Need more information on what is happening in Israel and Palestine? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to navigating the news online.
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