By Javi West Larrañaga and Mireia Merino
(Reuters) -Spanish travel company eDreams ODIGEO has withdrawn and will continue to block listings of accommodation in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.
David Elizaga told Reuters the company has always had a policy of not offering services in the illegal settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, but said some listings automatically appeared on its website after owners uploaded them on platforms.
The issue came to the fore at an Annual General Meeting in July that attracted pro-Palestinian protests against the company after it was the only Spanish firm named on the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights’ list, published in 2023.
Elizaga said the company activated location screenings to filter out apartments and hotels offered in the illegal settlements.
In addition to its contact with the United Nations, eDreams has been in touch with NGOs and local organisations to ensure it does not again appear in lists of companies that provide “services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements”.
“The United Nations works at the speed at which it works with the resources they have,” Elizaga said, adding that in the next edition of the report they should not be included.
The United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights Office said an update of the report will be made public a few days before it is officially presented on September 29.
Earlier on Tuesday, eDreams reported it had delivered a net profit of 13.6 million euros ($15.92 million) for the April to June period, the first quarter of its accounting year, from a net loss of 1.2 million euros in the same period last year.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga and Mireia Merino; editing by Inti Landauro, Barbara Lewis and Joe Bavier)
