Israel first democracy to expel HRW staffer: director

Israel is set to become the first democracy to expel a Human Rights Watch employee, its executive director Ken Roth said, denouncing the upcoming deportation of one of his staffers.

US citizen Omar Shakir, the New York-based rights group's director for Israel and the Palestinian territories, is to be deported from Israel on Monday over his alleged support of a boycott of the Jewish state.

The expulsion would make Shakir the first person to be expelled from inside the country under a controversial 2017 law allowing the deportation of foreigners who support a boycott, according to authorities.

HRW denies Shakir supports a boycott and accuses Israel of seeking to suppress criticism of its policies towards Palestinians.

"I cannot think of another democracy that has barred a Human Rights Watch researcher," Roth told AFP in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Roth said countries including North Korea, Venezuela and Iran have expelled HRW researchers but no functioning democracy had taken such action.

"I ..