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Dear Minister,  I’m writing to raise the urgent case of Palestinian human rights defender Salah Hammouri, who has been held under administrative detention, without charge or trial, since March 2022. The Israeli authorities have now revoked his Jerusalem residency, and plan to forcibly deport him from his home city of Jerusalem on Sunday 4 December. Israel's policy of revoking Palestinian residency rights in Jerusalem is a war crime, utilised as part of its system of control and domination of Palestinians living under Israel’s military occupation, part of its system of rule over Palestinians which amounts to the crime of apartheid under international law. Salah Hammouri has been held under administrative detention for 9 months. In addition to Salah, Israel holds hundreds of Palestinians from the oPt in administrative detention, imprisoned without charge or trial, usually on 'secret evidence' not available to the detainee or their lawyer. This is an ongoing issue which the UK government has noted too many times to count, for years on end: Israel’s systematic use of administrative detention is a violation of international law, as is the transfer of prisoners from occupied territory into Israel, which is the situation for nearly all Palestinian prisoners from the oPt held by Israel. As you will be aware, this is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a war crime under international law. The use of administrative detention and the planned deportation of Salah Hammouri is part of Israel’s relentless attack on Palestinian human rights defenders, who also often face intrusive surveillance, including the use of spyware on phones and computers, and coercive control through withholding of medical care or harassment of family members. In addition, Palestinian civil society organisations face disinformation campaigns, raids on their offices, arrest of key staff, and banning of human rights and civil associations. The planned deportation following the revocation of his residency rights also speaks to Israel’s broader policy of denying residency to Palestinians in order to sustain a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. Over 14,500 Palestinians have been stripped of their residency rights in accordance with this policy, which is an aspect of Israel’s practice of the crime of apartheid. Given the gravity and persistence of these issues for so many years, and the urgency of the situation faced both by Salah Hammouri, and other Palestinian human rights defenders, it is clear that merely raising the topic with your Israeli counterparts is having no effect. If the Ireland is serious about human rights and the rule of law, it must introduce consequences, including robust sanctions, for Israel’s immoral and illegal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and its repression of human rights defenders. The Irish Government must press Israel to stop Salah Hammouri’s imminent forcible deportation. It must also push Israel to immediately release all Palestinian prisoners held in violation of international law, including the hundreds held in administrative detention, and the thousands held in prisons after illegal transfer.