Israel Deports 32 Foreign Activists Amid Olive Harvest Crackdown, ICJ Rules Israel Must Facilitate Aid to Gaza

Israel Deports 32 Foreign Activists Amid Olive Harvest Crackdown, ICJ Rules Israel Must Facilitate Aid to Gaza
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Israel’s government announced on Wednesday that 32 foreign activists were ordered deported for assisting Palestinian farmers during the annual olive-harvest in the occupied West Bank, as reported by Al Arabiya English.

The move came after activists gathered in an area declared a military zone near Nablus, according to Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin, who said they violated a military order.

The deportation coincided with harvest-season violence: Israeli settlers and army personnel have reportedly carried out dozens of attacks against Palestinian pickers, including uprooting trees and harassing harvest-support volunteers. The activists were held by Israeli forces for about 72 hours, according to one British volunteer.

Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague issued a landmark advisory opinion that Israel, as an occupying power in Gaza, must allow and facilitate humanitarian aid by UN agencies, including UNRWA. According to Al Arabiya English, the court found that Israel had failed in its duty to supply the Gaza population with the essentials of life and that its alleged ban on UNRWA operations lacked sufficient justification.

The ICJ’s ruling also rejected Israel’s claim that UNRWA was significantly infiltrated by Hamas, and stressed that starvation cannot be used as a method of warfare. The decision carries moral and political weight, though it is legally non-binding, Financial Times reported.