Katz seeks exclusion orders against activists ahead of West Bank olive harvest
The move follows a Yesha Council appeal citing plans by foreign activists, including participants recruited by the Global Sumud Flotilla organization, to join harvest activities
Defense Minister Israel Katz has directed officials to take steps toward issuing administrative exclusion orders against activists whose activities are found to threaten public order and security during the West Bank olive harvest, i24NEWS learns.
The directive followed an appeal by Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, on behalf of local authority leaders in the West Bank. Gantz asked Katz to prevent activists he accused of planning provocations and confrontations from reaching harvest sites.
The olive harvest season began this week. According to the statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla organization, which led the Gaza flotilla attended by Greta Thunberg, announced that it was recruiting foreign activists to travel to Israel and take part in activities in West Bank harvest areas.
The appeal also cited organizing by Go Palestine, Protect the Harvest, Faz3a and the International Solidarity Movement.
In response, Katz instructed officials to pursue exclusion orders against activists assessed as posing a threat to public order and security in the area. The statement did not specify how many people could be affected or whether any orders had already been issued.
“The residents of Judea and Samaria are not a backdrop for the campaigns of foreign activists,” Gantz said, using the Israeli designation for the West Bank.
Gantz accused Israeli and foreign activists of seeking to create confrontations and said the olive harvest should not become a means of deliberately generating friction. He thanked Katz for responding to the appeal.