Israel prevents Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin from leaving via Allenby crossing, groups say

Israeli authorities on Friday prevented Shawan Jabarin, the general director of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, from leaving through the Allenby/Al-Karameh Bridge crossing, according to Al-Haq and Human Rights Watch, which described the move as a newly imposed international travel ban.

The action affects one of the most prominent Palestinian rights advocates and the head of one of the best-known Palestinian human rights organizations. Al-Haq, based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, has for years documented alleged rights violations and pursued international advocacy. No public Israeli government statement announcing or explaining the Nov. 13 restriction was available in the sourced material.

In a statement dated Nov. 13, Al-Haq said Israeli forces stopped Jabarin at the Allenby/Al-Karameh Bridge and “prevented him from travelling outside Palestine.” Human Rights Watch, in a news release issued the same day, said Israeli authorities had imposed an international travel ban on Jabarin.

Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the measure “reflects a vindictive effort to punish those advocating for victims of serious crimes.”

Al-Haq described the action as a “newly imposed travel ban” and linked it to broader pressure on Palestinian civil society, though no public explanation from Israeli authorities was cited in the material released Friday.

Jabarin has previously faced Israeli travel restrictions. In the 2007-2008 period, Israeli courts upheld limits on his travel after reviewing secret evidence submitted by security authorities.

His organization has also faced sustained pressure in recent years. Al-Haq was one of six Palestinian civil-society groups that Israel designated as “terrorist organizations” in October 2021, a move that drew criticism from U.N. experts and international rights groups.

The latest restriction comes amid wider legal and political pressure on Palestinian rights organizations. Al-Haq is also among groups targeted by U.S. sanctions imposed in September 2025 over engagement with the International Criminal Court, the Hague-based tribunal that prosecutes war crimes and other grave offenses. Human Rights Watch and other groups sued in U.S. federal court on Aug. 11, 2026, seeking to overturn those sanctions.

Friday’s reports from Al-Haq and Human Rights Watch did not provide further detail on the basis for blocking Jabarin’s travel, and no contemporaneous public explanation from Israeli authorities was available in the sourced material.