London, United Kingdom \u2013\u00a0British student Finn Joughin has been deported from Israel following his pro-Palestine activism in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old worked in the village of Umm al-Khair as an international volunteer with Proactive Presence, the movement that aims to protect Palestinian communities from settler attacks.<\/p>\n
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He was kidnapped by Israeli settlers at gunpoint on August 29 after intervening to protect Palestinian children playing football in the village in Masafer Yatta.<\/p>\n
Umm al-Khair is an area of the southern West Bank under Israeli administrative and security control, which was designated as Area C under the Oslo Accords. Palestinian communities there have been under continuous attack by Israeli settlers in recent months and years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had just taken a seat on the side of the pitch when maybe five or six teenagers arrived and attempted to kind of take over the pitch from the Palestinian kids,\u201d Joughin told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon the parents and settler families surrounded the pitch and were egging the kids on, shouting at the Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Local and foreign activists intervened to protect the children, with young settlers trying to force open the gates of the home of one of Umm al-Khair\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n
Joughin tried to block the settlers from tearing down a fence but was kicked and shoved by the group. Adult settlers arrived and put Joughin in a chokehold and twisted his arm around his back. Videos shared on social media showed him being taken back to the illegal Carmel settler outpost at gunpoint.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was placed in I what I\u2019d call a concrete shed, which I was later told was a bomb shelter. They took my phone and wallet off me. They demanded to see my passport. They were kind of making accusations at me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"UMM](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/getty_6a78496443-1786268004.jpg\")
Family and friends of Awdah Hathaleen attend his funeral on August 7, 2025 in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Kheir in the occupied West Bank. The 31-year-old Palestinian activist and father of three was killed on July 28 when Israeli settler Yinon Levi allegedly opened fire during a confrontation there [Tamir Kalifa\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n
Settlers accused him of being an \u201canarchist\u201d and commented on his supposed \u201cfriends in Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n
Joughin was held captive by armed settlers for around 30 minutes before the Israeli army arrived and he was taken to a police station in the settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron.<\/p>\n
When he told soldiers that he had been kidnapped by settlers, he said he was insulted and shouted and spat at.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was my first realisation that the Israeli police and military were going to be no less cordial or sympathetic to my situation than the settlers themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I realised it was best not to try and resist or make any strong moves and to hope that maybe I could wait it out. But once I heard the police arrived, maybe half an hour later, it dawned on me that I was about to be arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
A lawyer told Joughin that police were investigating him on suspicion of assault. However, police later told him that a \u201chigher authority\u201d had decided to keep him in custody, before he was formall arrested.<\/p>\n
The next day, he was taken in handcuffs to the magistrate\u2019s court in occupied Jerusalem. His lawyer and the public prosecutor agreed that instead of continuing legal proceedings, he would be deported to the UK.<\/p>\n
![\"Children](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/UAK-kids-play-football-with-settlers-unloading-supplies-at-adjacent-caravans_-1759226606.jpg\")
Young Palestinians play football on a dirt field as Israeli settlers unload supplies for the caravans set up menacingly close to the children\u2019s play area [File: Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n
At an immigration detention centre near Ben Gurion International Airport, investigators questioned his reasons for being in the West Bank, his positions on Israel and the war on Gaza and Iran.<\/p>\n
During his detention, Joughin saw a badly bruised Palestinian detainee begging his mother not to protest, fearing she would also be arrested.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy escort officer witnessed this and kind of laughingly turned to me and went, \u2018Welcome to Israel\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether he meant that somewhat bittersweetly or whether he was entirely laughing at the situation, I couldn\u2019t quite tell, but either way it felt pretty real.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s scary and of course it was a surreal experience to go through, but it\u2019s something I don\u2019t regret at all doing. It\u2019s something that I am proud to say that I was there for\u2026 after seeing some of the bravest people I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m working as quickly as possible on trying to clear my name, repeal my ban, and, if I can, return to Umm al-Khair.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Masafer Yatta is among the Palestinian communities in the West Bank to suffer a series of pogroms by Israeli settlers in recent weeks.<\/p>\n