British activist in West Bank to be deported, lawyer says

Israel will deport British activist Finn Joughin on Monday after he was seized and assaulted by settlers in the occupied West Bank and then transferred to police custody, his lawyer Inbar Shaked Vardi said.

Vardi said Joughin was in the southern West Bank village of Umm al-Khair on Saturday doing “protective presence”, a tactic used to deter Israeli settler violence against Palestinians.

She said children from settler families had entered the Palestinian village's sports centre and tried to dismantle fences put up to protect residents from settler attacks. Vardi said Joughin stood holding the fence to stop the break-in, after which settlers yelled accusations in Hebrew that he did not understand.

Vardi said settlers accused Joughin of sexually harassing a child, an allegation she denied. She said armed settlers then took him by force to the nearby settlement of Carmel, put him in a headlock, tied his hands behind his back and forced him to sit on the floor in a shed for about 30 minutes while they filmed videos.

Israeli police said a foreign national who “disturbed public order” near Carmel was arrested and later transferred to the immigration authority. Police said a complaint was filed against him on suspicion of assaulting a minor and other suspected offences.

Vardi said Israeli police arrested Joughin and questioned him only on suspicion of assault. She said police later moved him to Israel's immigration authority and that authorities decided to deport him after a pre-deportation hearing on Sunday. She said his flight was scheduled for about 3:00 pm on Monday.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the Palestinian territory, which are illegal under international law, among about three million Palestinians. Settler violence against Palestinians has persisted for years, often with little or no legal consequence, and recent months have seen a surge in attacks.