Israeli Authorities ban entry of ARIJ intern
Poppy Hardee a research assistant in the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) was denied entry into Israel on Monday 15, 2013, after returning from a short trip to Jordan.
Following a Masters degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution in 2010, Ms. Hardee has been working on an internship contract with ARIJ since February 18, this year. Ms. Hardee was involved in pure research activities in ARIJ regarding the Palestinian village profile project and environmental issues.
It seems that the Israeli border control classifies this point of view as a direct threat to the Israeli security. After being interrogated for 6 hours at the Allenby Bridge crossing point, Ms. Hardee was deemed a “security risk” and banned from entering Israel for 10 years and forced to return back to Jordan after searching all her personal belongings and investigating her Facebook contact list, the Israeli border control didn´t find any evidence of potential threats or illegal activities, which would harm the national security, Ms. Hardee was deported on Tuesday 16, 2013 to the UK through Jordan.
The Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem (ARIJ) condemns such acts of entry denial, which represents part of Israel’s policy of collective punishment to prevent the international community from witnessing what Israel is doing on the ground. The excuses on which Israel builds its policy, which are categorically false and erratic, cannot justify such serious violations of human rights standards, including those enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Declaration on human rights defenders. It is not clear how working in a nongovernmental organization which specifically aims to augment the local stock of scientific and technical knowledge and to introduce and devise more efficient methods of resource utilization and conservation, improved practices, and appropriate technology in Palestine, could threaten the security of Israel.