JERUSALEM, Wednesday, April 17, 2019 (WAFA) – Human rights groups condemned an Israeli court decision to deport Human Rights Watch (HRW) Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir because of his tweets.
"Yesterday an Israeli court upheld an order to deport HRW‘s Omar Shakir for his human rights work in Israel & the Occupied Palestinian Territories," said Amnesty International in a tweet. "The State of Israel‘s message has become clear: Human rights work has no place here. If you try to expose, we will expel you."
The Israeli government revoked in May of last year Shakir‘s work permit after it accused him of advocating boycott of Israel and Israeli settlements. A 2017 Israeli law allows the government to bar entry into Israel of advocated and supports of the boycott movement, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
HRW and Shakir challenged the government decision in court, which yesterday upheld his deportation and gave him until May 1 to leave the country. However, HRW said it will appeal the decision to Israel’s Supreme Court and seek an injunction allowing Shakir to remain in Israel until the appeal is heard.
"In a new and dangerous interpretation of the law, the court found that Human Rights Watch research and advocacy calling for businesses to stop facilitating abuses in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank constitutes a call for boycott. The ruling sets a precedent that could hamper the work of other advocacy organizations and jeopardize the status of other rights workers in Israel," said HRW in a statement following the court‘s ruling.
“Israel portrays itself as the region’s only democracy, but is set to deport a rights defender over his peaceful advocacy,” said Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. “The decision sends the chilling message that those who criticize the involvement of businesses in serious abuses in Israeli settlements risk being barred from Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.”
This case is the first in which the government has relied on a 2017 amendment to the Law of Entry to deport someone who is already lawfully present in the country.
The court based its ruling on a determination that Shakir has “continuously” called for boycotts of Israel, citing his student activism dating back to 2006 before he joined Human Rights Watch, as well as his subsequent work for the organization. The decision describes as “boycott-promoting activities” Human Rights Watch’s research on the activities of businesses, including the global tourism companies Airbnb and Booking.com, and its recommendation that they cease operating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
HRW said that neither it nor Shakir as its representative promotes boycotts of Israel. The advocacy in question focuses exclusively on the Israeli occupied West Bank, it said.
"Human Rights Watch has found that businesses operating in West Bank settlements inherently benefit from and contribute to serious violations of international humanitarian law and, on that basis, as part of its global efforts to urge companies to meet their human rights responsibilities, has called for companies to cease operations in settlements. Human Rights Watch also defends individuals’ right to express their views through nonviolent means, including participating in boycotts."
The deportation ruling comes amid sustained efforts to muzzle criticism of Israel’s human rights record. The Interior Ministry has denied entry to a number of other international rights advocates, accused Israeli advocacy groups of “slander” and of discrediting the state or army, imposed extensive financial reporting requirements on Israeli rights groups that burden their advocacy, and subjected Palestinian rights defenders to travel restrictions and even arrest and criminal charges.
“Israeli authorities should focus on ending their serious human rights abuses rather than muzzling groups reporting on them,” Porteous said.
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