Tel Aviv Court Rejects Appeal By US Student Banned From Entering Israel - Reports

An Israeli court has rejected an appeal by American student Lara Alqasem, who authorities would not allow into the country for allegedly supporting pro-Palestinian groups, Israeli media reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th October, 2018) An Israeli court has rejected an appeal by American student Lara Alqasem, who authorities would not allow into the country for allegedly supporting pro-Palestinian groups, Israeli media reported on Friday.

According to Haaretz, a district court in Tel Aviv upheld the decision to bar Alqasem from Israel, which she appealed earlier this week.

Alqasem, 22, traveled to Israel with a valid student visa to study at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

On October 2, Israeli authorities stopped her at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and prohibited her from entering the country based on suspicion that she is an activist of the "Boycott, Divest, Sanction" (BDS) Movement. She is being held in an airport detention center.

BDS campaigners promote boycotts against Israel in response to the oppression of the Palestinian people. Alqasem's father is of Palestinian decent, but her lawyers say she is no longer active in the BDS movement.