HRW asks Israeli court to block activist deportation

The New York-based rights group asked the court to delay the deportation of Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at the HRW, until the end of legal proceedings.

On May 9, Israel ordered Shakir to leave the occupied territories within two weeks, accusing him of promoting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The Israeli ministry of strategic affairs also collected a seven-page intelligence dossier on the 33-year-old Stanford-educated American lawyer, calling for the revocation of his work permit.

Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri further alleged that Shakir was a “boycott activist” and vowed to “act to expel people like this” with all means at his disposal.

However, both Shakir and the HRW denied the Israeli accusations of supporting the BDS movement, saying the regime was actually trying to block human rights activists from doing their jobs in the occupied lands.