UK Student Deported After Defending Palestinian Children From Settler Violence

Finn Joughin is back in Britain after Israel deported him for his work defending Palestinian children in the West Bank. The 22-year-old student left London only to face this outcome while volunteering with Proactive Presence. That group operates on the ground to shield communities from settler violence. He spent time living and working in Umm al-Khair, a hamlet under full Israeli administrative control.

The trouble started on August 29 in Masafer Yatta. Teenagers playing football were suddenly surrounded by settlers armed with guns. Local activists tried to step between the aggressors and the kids. Joughin stood his ground near the pitch when about five or six young men moved in to take over the field. Parents shouted insults at the Palestinian children while settlers egged them on.

Adult settlers arrived next and shoved Joughin against a fence he was trying to protect. They twisted his arm behind his back and held him in a chokehold. Footage later posted online showed him being forced toward the illegal Carmel outpost under threat of a weapon. He ended up in what looked like a concrete shed, later identified as a bomb shelter.

They stripped him of his phone and wallet before demanding to see his passport. Accusations flew quickly across the room. Settlers called him an anarchist and mentioned fake friends supposedly based in Iran. Joughin was held by armed men for roughly 30 minutes until soldiers from the Israeli army finally showed up. They took him to a police station in Kiryat Arba near Hebron instead of letting him go free.

Joughin told the guards he had been kidnapped. The reaction was not sympathy but insults, shouting, and spit in his face. His first thought was that the military would treat him no better than the settlers did. So he stopped resisting to see if he could wait out the ordeal. Once police sirens faded from half an hour away, he realized arrest was coming fast.

A lawyer advised him later that officers were investigating him for assault charges initially. But then a higher authority ordered his continued detention before formal arrest happened. The next day handcuffs went on as he walked to magistrate court in occupied Jerusalem. He is now home in Britain following this forced removal from Israeli soil.

His legal team and the prosecutor reached an agreement that ended court battles by sending him back to the United Kingdom. At a detention facility near Ben Gurion International Airport, officials pressed him about his reasons for staying in the West Bank while also probing his views on Israel, the war in Gaza, and Iran. While held captive there, Joughin watched a Palestinian detainee with severe bruises beg his mother not to protest because she might be arrested too.

My escort officer witnessed this scene and kind of laughingly turned to me and went, Welcome to Israel, he said later. Whether he meant that somewhat bittersweetly or whether he was entirely laughing at the situation, I couldnt quite tell, but either way it felt pretty real. After being threatened with extended detention, he signed deportation papers and waived his right to appeal. He was deported to Britain on August 31 and has been barred from returning to Israel or the occupied Palestinian Territory for 10 years.

Its scary and of course it was a surreal experience to go through, but its something I do not regret at all doing. Its something that I am proud to say that I was there for after seeing some of the bravest people Ive ever met, he told Al Jazeera. Im working as quickly as possible on trying to clear my name, repeal my ban, and if I can return to Umm al-Khair.

The village has been repeatedly targeted by settler attacks in recent years. A local Palestinian activist was shot dead last year and a settler has been charged with his death. Masafer Yatta is among the Palestinian communities in the West Bank to suffer a series of pogroms by Israeli settlers in recent weeks. Settlers and Israeli troops have carried out 11,074 attacks in the West Bank during the first half of this year, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

When reached for comment, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said We provided consular support to a British man who was detained in Umm al Kheir and were in contact with his family and the Israeli authorities. Al Jazeera approached the Israeli military for comment but received no further details on the situation.