A US university student has been detained for five days in Ben-Gurion Airport after being denied entry to Israel over her alleged ties to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Lara Alqasem, 22, was stopped at the airport on Tuesday evening despite holding a student visa issued to her by the Israeli consulate in Miami, Florida.
According to Haaretz, her name was flagged by security services for links to BDS activism. Ms Alqasem reportedly has Palestinian grandparents.
It is believed she travelled to Israel to study for a master’s degree in human rights at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
On Thursday, an Interior Ministry appeals tribunal denied an appeal filed by the student. The following day, her lawyer filed a further appeal to the Tel Aviv district court.
A further hearing is due to take place this week. In the interim, the Interior Ministry was ordered not to deport Ms Alqasem.
והנה חברי הכנסת עם לארה במתקן בנתב״ג. סיפרה להם איך ביקרה כבר בישראל בדצמבר האחרון, כתיירת, כדי לבדוק את האוניברסיטה אליה נרשמה. לא היו אז שום בעיות בכניסה. השר @giladerdan1 פספס בענק: מסתבר שהאיום האסטרטגי על קיומנו כבר חדר חופשי ממזמן ולא רק שלא ידענו - אפילו שרדנו 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/VIloACUSzy
— Noa Landau (@noa_landau) October 7, 2018
Ms Alqasem (second left) was visited by Israeli MKs Issawi Frej, Mossi Raz and Tamar Zandberg
The ministry has also denied the request of a group of academics from the Hebrew University to visit the 22-year-old in the airport’s detention facility.
After being initially denied entry for more than four hours, three MKs from the Meretz party visited Ms Alqasem on Sunday.
Party leader Tamar Zandberg, Mossi Raz and Issawi Frej were finally allowed a short visit with the student, after an intervention by Arye Dery, the Interior Minister.
