Israel cracks down on foreign activists in occupied West Bank: Report

JERUSALEM

Israel is using arrests, passport confiscations and deportations as part of its policy against foreign activists in the occupied West Bank, Israeli daily Haaretz said on Thursday.

Citing official data, Haaretz said at least 16 foreign activists have been expelled from Israel since October 2023 after being detained in the West Bank on various charges.

Lawyer Michael Pomerantz, who has represented several deported activists, said the number of foreign activists detained on false charges is on the rise.

“Given the current administration, this escalation is expected but concerning,” she said.

Haaretz attributed the rise in the number of deported activists to an official policy spearheaded by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

This policy, the report says, “is being implemented through close coordination between the Israeli military, police, and immigration authorities.”

According to Haaretz, Ben-Gvir directed security forces to interrogate foreign activists through a police unit responsible for investigating serious crimes in the West Bank.

In addition, Knesset member Zvi Sukkot, from Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power Party, has led at least five parliamentary committee discussions on the matter over the past five months.

During these sessions, military representatives confirmed that soldiers have been instructed to photograph activists’ passports and submit the information to police, Haaretz said.

A document obtained by Israeli daily revealed that the military, which typically conducts field arrests, has been directed to support this policy.

The document, a letter from Central Command General Avi Belot to a coalition of left-leaning organizations known as the “Harvest Partners Forum,” explicitly states that the military will “prevent and deter foreign elements who arrive at harvest sites to create friction.”

An Israeli military spokesperson denied any standing orders for soldiers to detain foreign activists.

However, police confirmed that since the beginning of the year, 30 foreign activists have been interrogated, many on charges of minor infractions such as obstructing a police officer or violating closed military zone orders. Others have faced more serious allegations, including support for “terrorist” organizations or incitement.

Following these investigations, some detained activists attended hearings with the Population and Immigration Authority before being deported on grounds of visa violations or criminal suspicions.

In some cases, police seized activists' passports until they presented flight tickets or issued ultimatums: leave immediately or face arrest, according to Haaretz.

Police statements described these activists as “anarchists” and credited Ben-Gvir’s policies for these actions.

Tens of foreign activists come from several countries around the world, including Belgium and the UK, to the occupied West Bank to show support to Palestinians during the olive harvest season in October and November.

Haaretz cited several high-profile cases of foreign activists, including Rachel Corrie, an American activist killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, and Ayşe Nur Ezgi, a Turkish American who was fatally shot by Israeli forces in September in the West Bank.

Commenting on the report, Israeli police said it enforces law against both Israeli and foreign activists.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,700 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Over 783 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio