- A private jet linked to Trump donor Gil Dezer was used by ICE for deporting Palestinians
- The jet flew detainees from the US to Israel before transferring them to the West Bank
- Deportees were shackled and released at a West Bank checkpoint with limited support
A private jet owned by a close associate of US President Donald Trump was used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport Palestinian detainees to the West Bank, according to an investigation by The Guardian. The luxury aircraft, belonging to Florida real estate developer and Trump donor Gil Dezer, was chartered by ICE for deportation flights from the United States to Israel, from where the men were transferred to the West Bank.
ICE chartered the 16-seat jet through Journey Aviation, a Florida-based company that frequently provides aircraft for US government agencies.
The aircraft used in the deportations carried the logo of Dezer Development, the real estate firm founded by Israeli-American developer Michael Dezer and now run by his son, Gil. The jet was used again this week, flying another group of Palestinian deportees to Tel Aviv, from where they were taken to the West Bank.
Last month, eight Palestinian men were deported from the US and released at a West Bank checkpoint. They arrived wearing prison-issued tracksuits and carrying their belongings in plastic bags, with little idea of where they were. They were transported aboard a privately owned Gulfstream jet; their wrists and ankles were shackled.
The flight was part of a US government effort to deport Palestinians detained by ICE to the West Bank rather than to their countries, The Guardian found.
“They dropped us off like animals on the side of the road,” said Maher Awad, one of the Palestinians deported from the US to the West Bank in January.
Awad, 24, originally from the West Bank, had lived in the US for nearly a decade. Speaking in the town of Rammun, he shared photos of his girlfriend and newborn son in Michigan. “I grew up in America,” he said. “America was heaven for me.”
Awad was among several men on the recent deportation flights. A photo published by Haaretz shows the men surrounded by Israeli security on arrival at Ben Gurion airport. Awad said they were later taken by armed guards to a checkpoint near Ni'lin, where they were released.
Mohammad Kanaan, a university professor who lives near the checkpoint, said he was surprised to see the men walking toward the village. “The Israeli army usually doesn't release prisoners at this checkpoint,” he said.
The men stayed at Kanaan's home for about two hours, he said, during which they were given food and allowed to contact their families. “They did not have any contact with their families for a long time,” he added. “Their families considered them missing.”
Awad and another deportee said their ankles were shackled throughout the January flight. Awad said he was also placed in a body restraint, with his wrists handcuffed to his stomach. The restraints, they said, made it difficult to eat. They had to bend forward to bring food to their mouths.
Zeidan, 47, had lived in Louisiana with his wife and five children. According to his uncle, Zeidan had left the West Bank in the early 2000s, served a prison sentence about a decade ago, and failed to renew his green card. He was detained by ICE more than a year ago. “Now he cannot go back to the [United] States. His whole family is there,” his uncle said.
Gil Dezer told The Guardian that he was “never privy to the names” of passengers or the purpose of flights when his jet was chartered. “The only thing I'm notified about is the dates of use,” he said.
Human Rights First said Dezer's jet had carried out four other deportation flights since October, to Kenya, Liberia, Guinea, and Eswatini, before its two trips to the occupied Palestinian State.
The US Department of Homeland Security said, “If a judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period.”
