ISRAEL SET TO DEPORT HRW OFFICIAL

JERUSALEM : Israel’s supreme court upheld a government decision to deport a Human Rights Watch official accused of backing an international pro-Palestinian boycott campaign, an edict he said was aimed at stifling criticism of Israel. The court ratified an interior ministry refusal to renew the work visa of Omar Shakir, a US citizen representing HRW in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and ordered him to leave in 20 days. Israel has criminalised the boycott.