The Israeli authorities at Ben Gurion Airport have denied London-based Palestinian-Australian professor, Adman Hania, entry into the West Bank yesterday after he arrived in Israel from London.

Hania was detained for a few hours before being sent back despite having received an official invitation from the University of Bir Zeit in Ramallah.

Media sources said Hania was interrogated about the work of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel. Hania’s wife, Rafeef Ziadah, is an active member in the movement and he himself is a well-known outspoken supporter of BDS.

Hania is a lecturer at SOAS in London and was invited to give lectures to post-graduate students at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank.

Israel denies Samidoun coordinator entry to Palestine, interrogates her about #BDS and prisoner solidarity. https://t.co/4iuZKT6bWa

— adri nieuwhof (@steketeh) August 22, 2016

Israel perceives the non-violent BDS movement as an existential threat and has recently prevented its co-founder, Omar Al-Barghouti from traveling by refusing to renew his travel documents.

Israel has previously denied dozens of activists entry into the West Bank due to their BDS links.

(PC, SAMA)