Korean American Among International Activists Facing Deportation by Israel

Irene Cho of Queens, NY traveled to the West Bank as a solidarity volunteer providing peaceful, legal protective presence to Palestinians facing attacks by Israeli settlers.

[Ramallah, West Bank] — Israel has ordered the deportation of a Korean American Palestine solidarity activist.

Irene Cho of Queens, NY traveled to the West Bank as a solidarity volunteer providing peaceful, protective presence to Palestinians facing attacks by Israeli settlers.

Israel has often responded to solidarity volunteers with repression and violence, as in the cases of Rachel Corrie and Ayşenur Eygi, who were killed in 2003 and 2024, respectively.

On December 11, 2025, Cho and another US citizen were arrested by Israeli forces while they were providing a protective presence to the Abu Hamam family in Al Mughayyir, near Ramallah.

According to Cho, Israeli soldiers targeted her after she refused to leave a pregnant Palestinian woman’s side. At a hearing on December 13, a judge ordered Cho and another U.S. activist to be deported.

The community of Al Mughayyir has faced growing assaults by settlers and Israeli border police and military as part of a coordinated campaign to establish a line of settlements from the south of Nablus to Ramallah, and east to the Jordan Valley.

In May, settlers established an illegal outpost in Al Mughayyir, driving 150 Palestinians from their homes in a five-day campaign of violence. Violence against Palestinians in Al Mughayyir by settlers and Israeli armed forces alike has sharply escalated since.

In August, the Israeli military occupied Al Mughayyir after a settler reported that he was wounded in an altercation with a Palestinian. Soldiers and settlers destroyed thousands of local olive trees, set cars ablaze, ransacked homes, and beat Palestinians.

The Abu Hamam family is the latest target of settlers and the Israeli military. On December 6, settlers beat four international volunteers and two members of the Abu Hamam family, 59-year-old Fadda Abu Hamam, and 13-year-old Riziq Abu Naim.

Following this incident, on December 10 the Israeli military declared the area surrounding the Abu Hamam compound a closed military zone, detaining one US national and one Australian who were providing a protective presence. The Abu Hamam family were not exempted from the order to evacuate, raising suspicions as to the military’s intentions.

On December 11, Cho and other solidarity activists were present at the Abu Hamam residence when settlers, accompanied by border police and soldiers, staged their fourth attack on the family.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. As the U.S.-Israeli genocide in Gaza has escalated since 2023, so too have attempts to ethnically cleanse the West Bank.

In a statement provided through her lawyers, Cho said, “I have been arrested and I am facing deportation for refusing to leave a nine months pregnant Palestinian woman alone with over 15 armed Israeli military and police personnel. I believe that the Palestinian people have an undeniable right to live on their own land. The struggle in Palestine is one of the highest struggles for land and I reject the Israeli colonial project’s attempt to steal the land of a family that has been living here for generations.”

Miyeon Jang of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development said, “Israel has a long history of brutality against Palestinians in the West Bank, and against international activists providing a protective presence in solidarity with the Palestinian people. As Israel steps up its efforts to ethnically cleanse the West Bank, the world must respond with firm denunciation and solidarity with the Palestinian people. Irene Cho and other international volunteers set a clear example for the rest of the world. She represents the best of the Korean community in the U.S., and we applaud her efforts.”

Ysabella Titi of the Palestinian Youth Movement said, “Violent Zionist settlers abetted and armed by the occupation government have escalated attacks in the West Bank on Palestinian people and their land. These settlers cut down olive trees older than the occupation by a millennia and force Palestinians at gun point out of their rightful home. I commend the American citizens who, in solidarity with Palestinians facing increasing settler violence, put their lives on the line to defend Palestinian livelihood.

The West Bank is facing perhaps the most brute conditions of illegal occupation in recent history. We remain committed to ending the occupation and we have deep respect for Americans and internationals who, following in the footsteps of Rachel Corrie, commit great sacrifices for their solidarity with the Palestinian cause.”

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