Omar Shaker, director of Human Rights Watch in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, confirmed that Israel's decision to deport him within 20 days and revoke his residency and work visa violated freedom of opinion and human rights.
In statements to Al-Jazeera, Shaker called on the Israeli occupation authorities to cancel the resolution, and also called on international organizations and the United Nations to pressure Israel to reverse its decision and provide an opportunity to facilitate the work of human rights organizations in the region.
Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the government's decision to expel Omar Shaker, who has sought more than a year to expel him.
Omar Shaker, a US citizen, said the decision was part of Israel's attempts to silence critics of its approach to the Palestinians and delegitimize them.
"If things continue like this, I have 20 days to leave, and Israel will join the ranks of Iran, North Korea and Egypt in denying access to the organization's officials," Shaker wrote on his Twitter account after the decision.
Israel has already prevented other persons from entering its territory under this law.
Israeli Interior Minister Arieh Deri welcomed the decision, saying, "I am pleased that this morning the Supreme Court upheld my decision not to extend Omar Shaker's visa."
The organization explains
Human Rights Watch said it was urging businesses to stop working in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to avoid human rights violations, and stressed that they did not advocate boycotting Israel.
She said she had "strongly challenged" allegations that Shaker had called for a boycott since joining the organization. Kenneth Roth, executive director of the organization, condemned the court's decision and warned that other similar provisions might follow.
"The Supreme Court has already declared that freedom of expression in Israel does not include the very ordinary call for Palestinian rights," he said.
"If the government now deports a Human Rights Watch researcher for asking corporations to respect rights as we do around the world, then we may be expelled," he said.
The case against Shaker is based on statements attributed to him supporting the boycott he had made before taking office, Human Rights Watch said. The Israeli government later added new statements to Shaker as supporting the boycott.
Human Rights Watch says it has criticized Israel's human rights record, but has never supported a boycott, and so has Shaker since he joined the organization.