Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel on Monday deported a British activist supporting the Palestinians, according to what his lawyer told Agence France-Presse, confirming that he was "kidnapped and assaulted by settlers" in the occupied West Bank over the weekend before being detained by the police.

Published on: 08/31/2026 - 21:11

Lawyer Inbar Shaked Vardi said that Finn Goggin was present on Saturday in the village of Umm al-Khair in the Hebron Governorate, south of the West Bank, as part of a “preventive presence” mission to deter the violence of Israeli settlers against the Palestinians.

She added that children from settler families entered the sports center of the Palestinian village, before trying to dismantle fences that had been erected to protect residents from settler attacks.

Vardi continued, "Finn just stood holding on to the fence in an attempt to prevent the intrusion, and then the settlers began shouting accusations at him in Hebrew, which he did not understand."

She explained, "The settlers began accusing him of sexually harassing one of the children, which did not happen," adding that armed settlers then forcefully took Jogin to a nearby settlement.

She pointed out that "he was transferred to a shed inside the Karmiel settlement... where he was forcefully grabbed by the head (placed in a strangulation position), his hands were tied behind his back, and he was forced to sit on the floor of the shed for thirty minutes, while the settlers were filming humiliating videos that they later published," stressing that this was "a violation of his right to privacy and his right to preserve his good reputation."

Vardi added that the Israeli police were summoned to the site, arrested him, and then “interrogated him based solely on suspicion of assault.”

While awaiting his hearing date in the Jerusalem Magistrate Court on Sunday, police announced that Joughin would be transferred to the Israeli Immigration Authority and transferred to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the lawyer said.

She confirmed that the authorities decided to deport him following a hearing on Sunday.

For its part, the Israeli police said in a statement that it arrested a “foreign citizen who disturbed public order” near the Karmiel settlement, and later referred him to the immigration authority.

She added that a complaint had been filed against him on suspicion of assaulting a minor and committing other possible violations.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Palestinians suffer from acts of violence committed by settlers against them, which often pass with little or no legal consequences, but recent months have witnessed an escalation in attacks.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the Palestinian territories that are considered illegal under international law, among about three million Palestinians.

Lawyer Inbar Shaked Vardi considered that the Finn Goggin case reflects a broader policy followed by the Israeli government to expand Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

She said, "The Israeli police often arrest Palestinians and activists who are subjected to settler attacks, despite clear evidence that they are victims of these attacks."

© 2026 AFP

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