Israel Expels Palestine Director for Human Rights Watch

Israeli authorities have decided to expel Omar Shaker, Palestine Director for Human Rights Watch (HRW) following a long legal battle.

He was charged with supporting an international movement aiming to boycott Israel and sanction it.

This movement is known also as BDS ( Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) of Israel for occupying the Arab lands.

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Shaker, a US national, denies those allegations and affirms that Tel Aviv seeks to persecute the Palestinians and the Israeli opposition.

He is the first person who was expelled from occupied Palestine under a controversial law that come to force in 2017.

That law stresses that any one who supports any movement calls to boycott Israel should be denied entry to the Hebrew state.

The United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) slammed Israel for deporting the UN employee and asked Tel Aviv to retreat of that decision.

The UN warns of deteriorating of efforts of human rights activists in Israel and Palestinian territories.

The USA, the strongest ally to Israel,  had announced refusing of BDS campaign but claimed on Sunday supporting of freedom to express.

This campaign calls to withdraw investment (pestment) from Israel and sanction it along with boycotting the Israeli occupation.

Israel sees the campaign as a strategic threat so it accuses the activists as antisemitic people but they refuse that nonsense.

Shaker, who occupied his post in 2017,  has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel to abolish the decision of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

The court refused that petition and upheld government decisions.

Israel claimed that Shaker supported the BDS movement before he came to his post.

He criticized the Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank.

Kenneth  Roth, chairman of HRW, said that there is no other democracy in the world denying entry of a researcher of the organization.

He added that step taken by Tel Aviv proves rising restrictions put on democracy in Israel.

HRW sheds light on unethical behavior committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.

The organization stresses that international law criminalizes the Israeli settlements.

Some 600 thousand Jewish settlers live now in the West Bank.