Hyperreal Encounters: Airbnb and the Politics of Tourism in the West Bank during Israel-Gaza War

This paper builds on recent work on the embodied geopolitics of tourism to investigate Airbnb rentals in illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, particularly during the Israeli-Gaza War. It focuses on tourists who book accommodations in these settlements amid heightened conflict, examining how they are encouraged to adopt certain attitudes toward these spaces and become participants in an embodied experience that shapes their geopolitical subjectivity. Drawing on Jean Baudrillard and other non-representational theorists, the paper argues that these tourism encounters function as negative simulations within a “hyperreal” spectacle.

This spectacle extends beyond mere representation, engaging affect and emotion as key elements in producing geopolitical subjectivity. While Airbnb listings in illegal settlements present a depoliticized version of these spaces—masking the harsh realities of occupation and dispossession—the experience of staying in these settlements during a time of war complicates the encounter. Tourists, while seemingly detached from the conflict, are drawn into spaces where the material and symbolic consequences of settler colonialism and ongoing military occupation are heightened.

The dynamics of vacationing in a settlement during the Israeli-Gaza War highlight the contrast between the marketed tranquility of these rentals and the political violence surrounding them. Drawing on an analysis of Airbnb reviews, property listings, and related scholarship on tourism and conflict, this paper explores how the embodied and performative materialities of these rentals contribute to a broader narrative of “conflict tourism.” It emphasizes the ethical and political implications of tourism in this conflict-ridden region, ultimately questioning the responsibilities of tourists who choose to engage with these spaces in the context of ongoing violence and dispossession.