The Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa division of Amnesty International USA, Raed Jarrar has been arrested and detained by Israeli authorities during an attempt to go beyond Allen Crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. Jarrar, a leading human right activist claimed he was on a personal visit to his family following the demise of his father, being an American citizen of Palestinian origin.
After his arrest, Jarrar was questioned for several hours at the West Bank before his eventual released. According to Al Jazeera, prior to joining Amnesty International, Jarrar had been allowed into the West Bank on at least four occasions in the past.
The spokesman of Population Authority's Interior Ministry who confirmed Jarrar's arrest stated that the move was because of his "Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activities." The statement further cited illegal immigration and public security or public safety or public order considerations as reasons for his arrest and eventual denial of access.
The report describes BDS as a Palestinian-led rights campaign which aims to pressure Israel through economic, cultural and other means into ending its occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands, and to grant its own Palestinian citizens full rights.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International claims the arrest of its official was in apparent retaliation for the organization's work on human rights violations. The statement draws from Jarrar's testimony that Israeli officials during interrogation criticized and questioned him over Amnesty International's work on settlements.
"They asked me questions about the campaign. They asked me 'Why does Amnesty International have a problem with Israel?' I said I'm here because my father passed away. But they were more interested in the group's work."
