An American student who refuses entry into Israel launches the last call

An American student banned from Israel for supporting a pro-Palestinian boycott campaign last Sunday called for an appeal of the decision to the state's supreme court, her lawyer said.

Lara Alqasem's request came the day she was to be deported from the Ben Gurion Airport Immigration Center, where she has been detained for 12 days.

On Friday, the Tel Aviv Administrative Court upheld the state's decision to prevent him from entering the Jewish state under a 2017 law banning supporters of the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).

Following his appeal, the Supreme Court issued an interim order to prevent his deportation, stating that in a statement a panel would meet "as early as possible this week" to decide whether or not to allow him to appeal.

His lawyer, Yotam Ben Hillel, said he hoped the procedure would progress quickly.

Alqasem landed at Ben Gurion on October 2, with the intention of completing a masters degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, but was not allowed to enter despite his visa.

She chose to challenge the ban on entry rather than returning to the United States.

The Israeli academic year began on Sunday.

In March 2017, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the entry of supporters of the BDS movement, inspired by an international campaign against South Africa before the fall of apartheid.

Alqasem, allegedly of Palestinian origin, presided over a section of Students for Justice in Palestine during his undergraduate studies at the University of Florida.

The group supported boycott campaigns against Israel.

"Every self-respecting State defends itself and defends its own interests and those of its citizens, and has the right to fight against the actions of a boycott … as well as against any attack on its image", said the court of Tel Aviv in its judgment on Friday.