JERUSALEM: An American-French law professor arrested by Israel while protesting against the demolition of a Palestinian village in the West Bank is to be deported, his lawyer said Sunday.
US-born Frank Romano, who teaches law at the Paris Nanterre University, was detained on Friday while taking part in a demonstration at the Bedouin village of Khan Al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem.
“There is an administrative decision to deport him,” lawyer Gaby Lansky told reporters.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli interior ministry could not immediately confirm such a decision.
The village of roughly 200 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is at risk of being demolished at any time, despite fierce criticism from key European nations.
On September 5, Israel’s supreme court upheld an order to raze it on grounds it was built without the proper permits.
It is extremely rare for Palestinians to be given Israeli permits to build in Area C of the West Bank, where Khan Al-Ahmar is situated.
The village is located in a strategic spot near Israeli settlements and along a road leading to the Dead Sea.
There have been warnings that continued settlement construction in the area could eventually divide the West Bank in two and cut it off from Jerusalem, dealing a death blow to any remaining hopes of a two-state solution.
Anti-demolition activists said Romano was arrested along with two Palestinian protesters when they tried to block bulldozers sent in by Israeli authorities to seal off an access road to the village.
Pictures on social media show him being led from the scene by Israeli riot police.
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Israel to deport French-US professor arrested at demo
Israel to deport French-US professor arrested at demo
- US-born Frank Romano was arrested while taking part in a demonstration at the village of Khan Al-Ahmar
- The village of roughly 200 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is at risk of being demolished
Iraq armed group tells fighters to prepare for long Iran-US war
BAGHDAD: A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi armed group told its fighters to prepare for the scenario of a long war in neighboring Iran should the United States launch strikes.
Kataeb Hezbollah warned the US on Thursday of “immense losses” were it to start a war in the region, while a commander in an armed faction told AFP his group was “highly likely” to intervene in case of strikes.
“Amid American threats and military build-up indicating a dangerous escalation in the region, it is necessary” for all fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition,” Kataeb Hezbollah said in a statement.
The commander told AFP that his group sees Iran as strategic to its own interests, and therefore any attack on the Islamic republic “directly threatens us.”
US-sanctioned Iraqi armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.
This time, the commander said they would be “less restrained,” especially in the event of strikes seeking to overthrow the regime.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.
Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.
Iran-backed groups are part of the so-called “axis of resistance,” which also includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
A Hezbollah official told AFP this week that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” US strikes on Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “red line.”
US President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to back up his threats of strikes should ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail to secure a deal.
US and Iranian negotiators met for a third round of talks on Thursday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling state TV that the talks “made very good progress.”
Kataeb Hezbollah warned the US on Thursday of “immense losses” were it to start a war in the region, while a commander in an armed faction told AFP his group was “highly likely” to intervene in case of strikes.
“Amid American threats and military build-up indicating a dangerous escalation in the region, it is necessary” for all fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition,” Kataeb Hezbollah said in a statement.
The commander told AFP that his group sees Iran as strategic to its own interests, and therefore any attack on the Islamic republic “directly threatens us.”
US-sanctioned Iraqi armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.
This time, the commander said they would be “less restrained,” especially in the event of strikes seeking to overthrow the regime.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.
Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.
Iran-backed groups are part of the so-called “axis of resistance,” which also includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
A Hezbollah official told AFP this week that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” US strikes on Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “red line.”
US President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to back up his threats of strikes should ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail to secure a deal.
US and Iranian negotiators met for a third round of talks on Thursday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling state TV that the talks “made very good progress.”
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