Israel bans Jordanian tribal judge from entry

Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has prevented senior Jordanian tribal judge Sheikh Trad Al-Fayez from entering Israel, Arab48 reported yesterday.

Shaked tweeted: “After violating the conditions of the visa and serious incitement against the state [of Israel], I ordered that he [Al-Fayez] be banned from entering Israel.”

Al-Fayez, a former Jordanian official, is the chief sheikh of the Bani Sakhr clan. He spent two weeks in the West Bank city of Hebron last month, in an attempt to resolve a dispute between two families.

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During his stay, Al-Fayez visited the Negev (Al-Naqab) region and met with Arab tribes living there. He praised their loyalty to their Arab identity.

Israeli right-wing activists launched a campaign against him, claiming that he “incited” against Israel during his visit. They posted a video of him speaking to a number of Arab residents of the Negev, and saying: “This is Palestine, the land of Arabism and the land of Islam.”

He added: “You are Arabs, even those who cooperate with the occupation will come back to their mind one day.”

Al-Fayez previously held the position of Jordan’s ambassador to Egypt, Lebanon and Qatar.

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