An Israeli court has ordered the deportation of Human Rights Watch’s local director and ordered him to leave the country within two weeks.  

The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Omar Shakir to remain in the country, citing his ongoing support of boycotts of Israel during his time in the country.  

Israel’s interior minister ordered Shakir’s deportation last year, calling him a “boycott activist,” a claim Human Rights Watch and Shakir denied.  

Israel enacted a law in 2017 barring entry to any foreigner who “knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel.”

Shakir, a U.S. citizen, has worked as the New York-based group’s Israel and Palestine director since October 2016.

The court ordered that Shakir has until May 1 to leave the country.
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