Israel’s top court upholds deportation of senior HRW official

Al Jazeera 5/11/19

Israel‘s Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to expel a senior Human Rights Watch (HRW) official over his alleged support for promoting boycotts of the country. The unanimous three-judge decision supporting the Israeli government’s move against Omar Shakir, a US citizen who represents HRW in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, was published on Tuesday on the court’s website.

It will now be up to the government whether to follow through and deport Shakir, who brands the move a bid by Israel to silence and delegitimise critics of its treatment of Palestinians. “If it proceeds, I have 20 days to leave and it’ll join ranks of Iran, North Korea & Egypt in blocking access for HRW official,” Shakir tweeted after the decision was announced, referring to Israel, which has sought to expel him for more than a year …  It would be the first expulsion of its kind under a 2017 law allowing the deportation of foreigners who support boycotting Israel, though there have been cases of people being denied entry under the measure….