Amnesty International accused Airbnb of acting in bad faith towards investors ahead of its stock market debut on Thursday by failing to inform them of its business activities in Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.

Airbnb did not provide comment on Amnesty's charge. A company spokesman referred Reuters to a statement it made in 2019 saying it would not take profits from its listings in the West Bank.

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Amnesty, which wants Airbnb to de-list rental properties in the settlements, said in a statement that the company should have mentioned them in the "Risk Factors" section of a Nov. 16 regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The San Francisco-based booking company is holding an initial public offering on Nasdaq on Thursday.

"Airbnb stock is expected to be purchased by investment and pension funds across the world, which could mean that a large number of people will indirectly hold investments in Airbnb without understanding the full ramifications," the human rights group said.

Airbnb has around 200 properties for rent in Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, Amnesty said.

Saleh Higazi, Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a press release that Airbnb "needs to do right by future investors and stop benefiting from illegal settlements."

Heeding calls from Palestinians and human rights activists, Airbnb in 2018 said it would remove the settlement properties. But following legal challenges in the United States, it reversed the decision in 2019 while committing to donate profits from the bookings.

"Any profits generated for Airbnb by any Airbnb host activity in the entire West Bank will be donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to humanitarian aid that serve people in different parts of the world," Airbnb said in its April 2019 statement.

Airbnb was one of 112 companies the United Nations' human rights office said have business ties to settlements, a list that also included other travel firms and a steel producer.

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The action came after the identities of hundreds of Iron March users were leaked onto the internet.

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"Anyone sympathetic to neo-Nazi ideology and violent extremism has absolutely no place on Airbnb, and our community is a better place without them," an Airbnb spokesman said in a statement.

Iron March is an online site that allows people from all over the world to connect in a forum-like setting and its members have been linked to murders and terror attacks across Western countries.

"This was a no-brainer – when we see people on our platform pursuing behavior antithetical to our Community Commitment, we take action to prioritize the safety of our community," the spokesman told the Daily Mail.

"Through our trust and safety systems, we are continuously seeking to proactively identify those who could put our hosts and guests at risk," the spokesman added.

So far, Airbnb has removed over 1.2 million users the company deemed had violated its "Community Commitment" anti-discrimination policy instituted in 2016, its spokesman told the Daily Mail.

In early October, Airbnb said it would back off a plan to remove Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria from its rental listings to end lawsuits brought by hosts.

Israeli lawyers had filed a class action suit against Airbnb in November immediately after it said it planned to remove listings of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria "that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians."

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Heeding calls from Palestinians who want the West Bank for a future state, Airbnb had said in November it would remove the listings of some 200 settlement homes.

That decision was deplored by Israel and challenged in some U.S. jurisdictions.

Announcing a resolution of lawsuits brought against it, Airbnb said it "will not move forward with implementing the removal of listings in the West Bank from the platform."

Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement that this "signals the complicity of the company with the systematic denial of our inalienable right to self-determination."

He said Airbnb's announcement that it would take no profits from its activities in the West Bank "is nothing but a shameful attempt at whitewashing their complicity."

There was no official comment from Israel, which held a national election on Tuesday.

Airbnb was sued over its proposed delisting of West Bank apartments last November in Jerusalem District Court and, separately, in U.S. federal courts in Delaware and California.

The Israeli lawsuit, a class action, accused the company of "outrageous discrimination" and demanded monetary damages.

The Delaware lawsuit accused Airbnb of violating U.S. housing discrimination law by excluding Jewish-owned properties while letting Muslims and Christians continue to use Airbnb. The California lawsuit made similar claims.

Airbnb has denied that its West Bank delisting plan targeted Israel in general. "Airbnb has never boycotted Israel, Israeli businesses, or the more than 20,000 Israeli hosts who are active on the Airbnb platform," the company statement said.

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The agreement settles all legal actions brought by hosts and potential hosts who went to court with concerns about listings, according to Airbnb.

Israeli lawyers filed a class action suit against Airbnb in November immediately after it said it planned to remove listings of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria "that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians."

"Airbnb will not move forward with implementing the removal of listings in the West Bank from the platform," the San Francisco-based company said Tuesday in a news release.

"We will continue to allow listings throughout all of the West Bank but Airbnb will take no profits from this activity in the region."

Profit generated from Airbnb listings in the West Bank will be donated to non-profit groups dedicated to humanitarian aid in various parts of the world, according to the startup.

Airbnb added that it will implement the same approach for listings in Moscow-backed separatist regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two other disputed areas where the company previously planned to take action.

The class action suit had sought 15,000 shekels ($4,183) in damages for the lead plaintiff and each other settler host should Airbnb delete them from its listings, a spokesman said earlier.

The decision would have affected around 200 homes in Israeli settlements that had been listed on the platform.

Around 500,000 Israelis live in settlements that dot the West Bank and range in size from tiny hamlets to large towns, in addition to 200,000 living in settlements in East Jerusalem.

Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan repeatedly attacked the move, saying it represented "surrender" to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Erdan called the move "an unfortunate decision that constitutes surrender to the anti-Semitic BDS organizations and is based on political considerations rather than business considerations."

"National conflicts exist all over the world and the heads of Airbnb will have to explain why they chose to take a racist political stance against some of Israel's citizens," he noted.

However, Airbnb dismissed Erdan's claim outright in an official statement, saying that it "unequivocally" rejects the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

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The 18 plaintiffs, including Israeli-American families and individuals who said they own or wish to rent affected homes, accused Airbnb of "redlining" Jewish-owned properties while letting Muslims and Christians rent their homes.

They said this effectively left Airbnb taking sides in the dispute over the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to establish an independent state.

"We don't believe this lawsuit will succeed in court, but we know that people will disagree with our decision and appreciate their perspective," Airbnb said in a statement.

The complaint was filed in federal court in Delaware, where Airbnb is incorporated, and which the plaintiffs said has jurisdiction over the San Francisco-based company's alleged violation of U.S. laws against housing discrimination.

"Airbnb has made a religion- and a nationality-based decision about who can list," Robert Tolchin, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an interview. "It decided in the United States, 'We will not list for Jews in the West Bank.' It should be equal access for all."

The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief and unspecified damages, including for lost rental income.

Israeli lawyers last week filed a separate class-action lawsuit against Airbnb over the move, accusing the company of "outrageous discrimination" and demanding monetary compensation over its delisting of dozens of properties from Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.

The Delaware case differed by claiming that "Airbnb is violating Americans' rights, and this can't be argued in an Israeli court under Israeli law," Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, another lawyer for the plaintiffs, said.

While concluding that "companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced," Airbnb said it had "deep respect" for the "many strong views" about what to do with disputed lands.

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"I call today on all those who support Israel and oppose discriminatory boycotts: They should cease using Airbnb and turn to other services," Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan told a diplomatic conference hosted by The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

"By the way, Booking.com is a great service," added Erdan, the point man in Israeli government efforts to combat pro-Palestinian boycotts.

Airbnb said on Monday it would remove some 200 settlement listings after hearing criticism from people who "believe companies should not profit on lands where people have been displaced."

The Palestinians have welcomed the San Francisco-based firm's move.

"Airbnb took a decision in the right direction to stop dealings with Israeli settlements, consistent with international legitimacy," Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior official with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said.

"Erdan's incitement comes in the course of continued attempts by the Israeli extremist government to intimidate companies, parties and individuals who try to try to take good decisions that agree with international resolutions."

A spokesman for Airbnb declined to comment on the Israeli minister's remarks. In a statement, Chris Lehane, Airbnb's global head of policy and communications, said: "Israel is a special place and our over 22,000 hosts are special people who have welcomed hundreds of thousands of guests to Israel.

"We understand that this is a hard and complicated issue and we appreciate everyone's perspective."

Human Rights Watch hailed Airbnb's delisting decision and, in a report on Tuesday, called on Booking.com to follow suit.

Booking.com did not respond on the matter.

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, addressing Wednesday's conference separately, backed Erdan's call to boycott Airbnb and suggested Israel also deploy its own anti-discrimination laws.

Israel has said it would turn to the Trump administration and could back lawsuits against Airbnb within U.S. states that have legislated against anti-Israel boycotts.

In Israel, one 2017 law empowers courts to award cash compensation to claimants who prove they have been denied goods or services because of where they live.

"I checked yesterday with my office, with the attorney general, whether we can operate this law, and the answer is positive," Shaked said. "We need to do anything we can in order to fight them back in order that they will change their decision."

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