Israel deports British activist who protected Palestinian children

London, United Kingdom – British student Finn Joughin has been deported from Israel following his pro-Palestine activism in the occupied West Bank.

The 22-year-old worked in the village of Umm al-Khair as an international volunteer with Proactive Presence, the movement that aims to protect Palestinian communities from settler attacks.

He was kidnapped by Israeli settlers at gunpoint on August 29 after intervening to protect Palestinian children playing football in the village in Masafer Yatta.

Umm al-Khair is an area of the southern West Bank under Israeli administrative and security control, which was designated as Area C under the Oslo Accords. Palestinian communities there have been under continuous attack by Israeli settlers in recent months and years.

“I had just taken a seat on the side of the pitch when maybe five or six teenagers arrived and attempted to kind of take over the pitch from the Palestinian kids,” Joughin told Al Jazeera.

“Soon the parents and settler families surrounded the pitch and were egging the kids on, shouting at the Palestinians.

Local and foreign activists intervened to protect the children, with young settlers trying to force open the gates of the home of one of Umm al-Khair’s residents.

Joughin tried to block the settlers from tearing down a fence but was kicked and shoved by the group. Adult settlers arrived and put Joughin in a chokehold and twisted his arm around his back. Videos shared on social media showed him being taken back to the illegal Carmel settler outpost at gunpoint.