Israel arrests boycott campaign head for 'tax evasion'

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

The co-founder of a campaign to boycott Israel was arrested for alleged tax evasion on Monday, Israeli media reported.

Omar Barghouti, a leader of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS), was arrested at his home in Akka, an Arab-majority port town in northern Israel, for allegedly concealing $700,000 of income, Israel's Channel 7 reported.

The arrest comes after a recent build-up of pressure on BDS from the Israeli government following the passage of a law allowing pro-boycott activists to be banned from entering.

Last week the British head of the pro-boycott Palestine Solidarity Organization, Hugh Lanning, was turned away at the border while American-Israeli activist Jeff Halper was also reportedly briefly detained for having BDS materials.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday that the government is also considering creating a database of citizens who support the boycott.

Earlier this month, Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passed into law a bill barring the entry for advocates of boycotting settlement goods.

BDS calls for economic, cultural and academic institutions it believes are linked to violence against Palestinians, to pressure Israel into withdrawing from the occupied West Bank, recognize the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and allow the return of Palestinians displaced after Israel's establishment in 1948.