AN IRISH ACTIVIST has been deported from Israel after being arrested in the occupied West Bank while taking part in an international solidarity presence with a Palestinian family facing sustained settler harassment.

59-year-old Kevin McGibbon, originally from Lurgan and now based in Bournemouth, was detained on 16 January along with three other international activists at the home of the Abu Hamam family in al-Khalayel, on the outskirts of the village of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah.

Two of the four activists, McGibbon and a US national, were deported on 18 January following more than 24 hours in Israeli custody.

The other two, both US citizens, were later released.

McGibbon had been volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) since 8 December, providing what the group describes as a “protective presence” for Palestinian families under threat from settlers.

The scene of the arrests on 16 January. ISM ISM

On the morning of the arrests, McGibbon said the activists were on watch for settlers approaching the family home, a regular occurrence in the area.

All settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law. They violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans an occupying power from transferring its population to the area it occupies.

The West Bank is home to roughly three million Palestinians and approximately 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers.

“Settlers come down nearly every day with sheep to graze on the family’s land and destroy the olive trees,” McGibbon told The Journal.

“We were on watch from about 5.30am that morning.”

He said that a teenage settler, known locally for harassing the family, approached the property while riding a donkey, and immediately headed towards the family home.

“This time he came directly towards the house, which he doesn’t normally do,” McGibbon said.

“There was a drone overhead the whole time.”

The four activists placed plastic chairs across a narrow access lane to block the settler’s path.

“We turned him away non-violently,” McGibbon said.

“I was pushing the donkey with my shoulder, another activist was holding out a chair to block the family sheep.”

Around 15 minutes later, Israeli forces arrived.

“They came with two jeeps and about ten soldiers,” McGibbon said.

“They disabled the family’s CCTV cameras and made us all sit there for about three hours.”

He said the soldiers initially declared the area a closed military zone and instructed the activists to leave.

However, after the settler spoke at length with soldiers and showed them video footage, the four internationals were arrested.

McGibbon said the group was collectively accused of offences including animal cruelty, assaulting a minor and breach of the peace.

They told us we were being arrested for trying to strangle a donkey.

The activists were handcuffed and shackled at the ankles and taken to a police station, where McGibbon said they were held for hours without food or water and repeatedly denied access to a toilet.

“They wouldn’t even take the handcuffs off,” he said.

Israeli soldiers pictured near Nablus in the West Bank. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

He said he was deeply affected by seeing Palestinian children in detention during his time in custody.

“There were teenagers sitting on the floor, blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their backs,” McGibbon said. “No parents. No lawyers.”

McGibbon and one US activist were later separated from the others, strip-searched and transferred between multiple police stations and a prison in Jerusalem before being taken to the Ben Gurion immigration facility.

“I was interrogated with a lawyer present,” he said.

“They kept coming back to the donkey accusation, but the questions quickly moved to my Instagram.”

He said he was informed he would be deported despite not being charged with any offence.

“The decision to deport me was political,” McGibbon said.

“No crime was committed.”

He was deported to Heathrow Airport, despite being told he would be sent to Luton, where his vehicle was parked.

He said Israeli immigration authorities refused to tell his contacts where he was being flown.

The arrests took place amid a wider escalation of violence in the area.

On the same day, Israeli forces shot dead 14-year-old Mohammed Saad Sami Naasan during a military raid on al-Mughayyir, shortly after prayers at the village mosque.

Mohammed Naasan. ISM ISM

McGibbon said there have been no repercussions for those involved.

“You can shoot a Palestinian child with no consequences,” McGibbon said. “But just don’t harm a donkey.”

ISM and Palestinian residents say the Abu Hamam family has faced months of coordinated harassment by settlers and Israeli forces, including near-daily incursions, grazing of livestock on their land, destruction of property and repeated arrests.

McGibbon said the targeting of international activists was deliberate.

“They don’t want internationals there,” McGibbon claimed, adding that the ISM are currently searching for more volunteers to counter settler disputes on Palestinian lands.

“The aim is to remove us so settlers can attack the family and clear them from the valley.”

Only two Palestinian families remain in the immediate area, he said.

“If we were Palestinians, we’d be dead,” McGibbon added.

“That’s the reality they live with every day.”

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