A US university student has been detained for five days in Ben-Gurion Airport after being denied entry to Israel over her alleged ties to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Lara Alqasem, 22, was stopped at the airport on Tuesday evening despite holding a student visa issued to her by the Israeli consulate in Miami, Florida.
According to Haaretz, her name was flagged by security services for links to BDS activism. Ms Alqasem reportedly has Palestinian grandparents.
It is believed she travelled to Israel to study for a master’s degree in human rights at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
