Israeli court freezes expulsion order of HRW's Omar Shakir

An Israeli court has temporarily given permission for Human Rights Watch's Omar Shakir to remain in Israel for the duration of his appeal against an order for him to leave the country.

Shakir, the organisation's director for Israel and Palestine, had his work permit removed by the authorities on 8 May and was ordered to leave the country within two weeks, citing links to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement outlawed by Israel.

Shakir and HRW deny having any links with BDS, and have launched a legal challenge against the order.

Shakir tweeted of the news on Wednesday.

"District Court has issued an interim injunction ordering interior ministry to allow me to remain in Israel until the end of legal proceedings, reasoning that revocation decision was based on 'old facts'," he said.

"We still got a ways to go, but a major step in the right direction."

The move has prompted outrage from human rights defenders and the wider international community - including the UN and EU - as well as 15 Israeli organisations who released a joint statement saying that such actions put Israel "squarely on a list of disreputable states".

Twitter Post