Jordan refuses entry to stateless Palestinian photographer held by Israel

Israeli authorities want to detain Mustafa Al Haruf even though his family is from occupied East Jerusalem

A picture taken on December 4, 2017 shows a general view of the skyline of the old city of Jerusalem, with the Dome of the Rock (L) in the Aqsa Compund. AFP

Jordan refused entry yesterday to Mustafa Al Haruf, a stateless Palestinian photographer born in Algeria who Israel has been trying to deport despite the fact that his family is from occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel detained Al Haruf in January for living illegally in Israel and held him since without charges or trial.

Israel's Supreme Court refused to hear his last appeal on Thursday, paving the way for his failed deportation on Monday.

Al Haruf's family returned to Jerusalem from Algeria when he was 12.

But by the time his family's request for residency permits in Jerusalem were accepted, he had just turned 18 and so he was denied a visa as part of the family.

Al Haruf has since lived in a legal limbo, with a periodically renewed residency permit.

His wife and daughter, 2, are residents of occupied East Jerusalem and he applied for family unification to formalise his status.

Israeli authorities rejected his request and subsequent appeals, claiming he was part of Hamas.

Al Haruf denies the charges, saying his coverage of demonstrations and contacts with political activists is solely related to his work as a photojournalist, including for the Turkish Anadolu News agency.

Like many Palestinians, Al Haruf holds a Jordanian travel document, a holdover from the Jordanian occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

This allows him to travel but does not provide residency or citizenship.

His family did not know his whereabouts on Monday, but Al Haruf is now back in Givon prison, says Hamoked Centre for the Defence of the Individual, the Israeli NGO that has taken on his case.