Israel deports British volunteer after West Bank detention
Finn Joughin was deported to Britain after detention linked to an encounter with Israeli settlers in Umm al-Khair and barred from returning for 10 years.
British student and pro-Palestinian volunteer Finn Joughin was deported from Israel to Britain on 31 August after being detained following an encounter with Israeli settlers in Umm al-Khair, in the occupied West Bank.
Joughin, 22, told Al Jazeera that armed settlers held him for about 30 minutes on 29 August after he intervened during a confrontation involving Palestinian children. He said Israeli soldiers later took him to a police station, where he was investigated on suspicion of assault before being formally detained.
According to Joughin’s account, his lawyer and a public prosecutor agreed to deportation instead of continuing legal proceedings. He said he signed the relevant papers and waived his right to appeal after being threatened with extended detention.
Joughin was deported to the UK and barred from returning to Israel or the occupied Palestinian Territory for 10 years. The supplied account does not specify the legal basis for the ban or identify the higher authority reported to have ordered his continued detention.
Joughin had been volunteering with Proactive Presence, an organisation that says it protects Palestinian communities from settler attacks. Umm al-Khair is in Masafer Yatta, an Area C part of the West Bank under Israeli administrative and security control.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it provided consular support and contacted Joughin’s family and Israeli authorities. Al Jazeera said it approached the Israeli military for comment, but no response was included in the report.
