Birzeit U Condemns Deportation of Visiting Academic

A British academic scheduled to give a series of lectures at Birzeit University, a Palestinian institution in the West Bank, was denied entry to Israel last week, according to a statement released by Birzeit.

According to the statement, Adam Hanieh, a senior lecturer in development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, was held for questioning for 10 hours at the airport in Tel Aviv and taken to an overnight detention center before being deported back to London on the morning of Sept. 13. He was also barred from entering the country for 10 years.

Via email, Hanieh said he was not given any specific reason for the denial of entry. He said he was provided with a notice, issued by the Ministry of Interior, citing as a general reason “public security or public safety or public order considerations.”

Birzeit condemned the deportation of Hanieh in its statement, describing it as “part of a systematic policy of denial of entry to international academics, professionals and activists intending to visit Palestine.”