Anadolu Agency journalist unaccounted for in Israel

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Anadolu Agency photojournalist in Jerusalem has not been heard from since an Israeli decision to deport him to Jordan, according to his friend on Monday.

Mustafa Kharouf, 32, was detained by Israeli police in East Jerusalem in January and held in prison in advance of his deportation.

Israeli authorities say that Kharouf, who has lived in Jerusalem with his family since he was 12, was born in Algeria.

"He told me during a phone call from his prison on Sunday that Israeli authorities will deport him to Jordan today," his friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.

He said no communication has since taken place with the photojournalist.

There was no comment from the Israeli authorities on the report.

For the last 20 years, the Israeli authorities have consistently refused to grant Kharouf a long-term residency permit, forcing him to obtain fresh tourist visas each year.

While Kharouf holds a Jordanian passport that allows him to travel to neighboring Arab states, it does not give him citizenship or residency rights in Jordan.

Kharouf has worked for Anadolu Agency as a photojournalist since August of last year.

Israel captured the West Bank, which international law still regards as an “occupied territory”, during the 1967 Middle East war.