Human Rights Watch To Appeal Israel Decision To Deport Program Director - Statement

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2019) Human Rights Watch (HRW) will appeal a decision by an Israeli court to deport its Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir from the country over his work on settlements in the West Bank, the international watchdog said in a press release.

"The court has given Shakir until May 1 to leave the country. Human Rights Watch will appeal the decision to Israel's Supreme Court and seek an injunction allowing Shakir to remain in Israel until the appeal is heard," the release said on Tuesday. "The court decision notes that, should Human Rights Watch file an appeal and request such an injunction, it will not enforce the deadline until there is a ruling on the injunction."

An Israeli court on Tuesday upheld the government's order to deport Shakir.

Israel revoked the human rights defender's work visa last May based on a 2017 law that bans people from backing so-called boycotts of Israel or Israeli settlements.

Human Rights Watch recommending that businesses cease operating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank was described as "boycott-promoting activities," by Israeli authorities, according to the release.

Palestine remains only partially recognized as a state and claims the territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In 1947, the United Nations worked out a plan to put an end to the conflict, giving most of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestine. Israel occupied the territories 20 years later during the Six-Day War but claims to have withdrawn all its forces from Gaza in 2005.