The Israeli General Security Service (Shabak) today summoned the director of Bisan Center for Research and Development Ubai Aboudi while at the border crossing with Jordan and banned him from travel for the third time in a row. 'Bisan Center for Research and Development is deeply concerned for the well-being, safety, and rights of its Director Ubai Aboudi, as he has been summoned for interrogation by the Israeli General Security Service (Shabak),' said the center in a statement. 'Ubai Aboudi has faced unjust restrictions on his freedom of movement since 2022, with Israeli occupation forces denying him the right to travel without cause or due process while disregarding repeated requests to clarify whether a travel ban is in effect. These actions not only violate his basic civil and human rights, but also hinder his vital work in defending Palestinian human rights, promoting civil society, and advocating for justice,' it said. Israeli forces have consistently refused Ubai's travel out of the occupied West Bank, including his most recent attempt to travel to Jordan on Wednesday, 30 August, as well as his previous planned trip to Jordan in June 2022 to attend an expert meeting with a United Nations human rights body. 'These violations are part of the wider attacks on Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders, which have resulted in the continued shrinking space for civil society organizations and activists to advocate and defend Palestinian rights. The continuous criminalization of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations, which is evident in the outlawing of the six prominent civil society and human rights organizations in October 2021 (Al-Haq, Addameer, DCI-Palestine, Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, Union of Agricultural Work Committees and Bisan Center for Research and Development),' said Bisan Center in the statement. 'These attacks are part and parcel of the wider attacks on the Palestinian community that have intensified from the beginning of this year to make it the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005,' it added, calling on the international community, including governments, human rights organizations, civil society and human rights defenders 'to take immediate action against this repression and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their violations.'
Source: Palestine News & Information Agency