Israel 'bars' Palestinian-American NGO director from travel to Mexico, US

Ubai Aboudi was meant to fly to Mexico to speak at a World Social Forum event on the use of spyware and terrorist designations against Palestinian activists.

MENA

2 min read

Brooke Anderson

Washington, D.C.

30 April, 2022

A Palestinian activist whom Israel has prevented from travelling abroad has previously had his phone hacked by the Israeli tech firm NSO Group's Pegasus software [Getty]

The Palestinian-American director of an NGO designated a terror organisation by Israel last year has claimed he was barred by Israeli authorities on Friday from travelling to the United States and Mexico.

Ubai Aboudi, executive director of Bisan Center for Research and Development, said on Friday that he was meant to fly to Mexico to participate in the World Social Forum, which begins Sunday.

"No reason was given to why I was denied, my repeated demands to be given a reason or to talk to a senior officer were met with refusal," Aboudi said in one of a series of tweets about the incident.

3) I had booked tickets to Mexico and to the United States to participate in events and speaking tours to help expose human rights violations and connect with Other Human Rights Defenders and activists to coordinate and challenge the status quo.
— Ubai (@UbaiAboudi) April 29, 2022

Aboudi said he was set to speak at a panel called 'Resistance in the Void: Secret Evidence, Spyware and Terrorist Designations: The Battle for Global Civil Society begins in Palestine'.

Bisan was one of six Palestinian NGOs designated by Israel as terrorist organisations in October 2021, a move that sparked international outrage.

Aboudi was one of six Palestinian NGO workers whose phones were hacked using the Israeli technology firm NSO Group's Pegasus spyware last year.

NSO Group, which is sanctioned by the US, is based in Herzliya, Israel, and has government agencies all over the world as clients - though it is not forthcoming about which governments.