LONDON: The UK has raised the detention and arrest of a British national in the occupied West Bank with the Israeli government, the BBC reported on Monday.

The 22-year-old student activist, Finn Joughin, was arrested in Umm Al-Kheir on the weekend after being detained by Israeli settlers.

They had earlier advanced on the Palestinian village amid a surge in attacks on local families and their property.

Israel’s settlements are illegal under international law, and despite the country’s laws prohibiting settler outposts, the sites are often supported by state security forces and funding.

Eyewitnesses said Palestinian children were playing football before children from nearby settler families intervened and began dismantling a fence.

Joughin, in footage seen by the BBC, stood by the fence and used his body to block a settler child from damaging the structure. Israeli settlers then forcefully removed Joughin and transported him to an outpost.

Later, Israeli police said a foreign national had been detained by the security forces of a settler community over an alleged “indecent act against a minor.”

Joughin is expected to be deported to the UK on a Monday flight, his lawyer Shaked Vardi, said.

“So far, they have not decided officially on closing the case. It’s safe to assume they won't continue to pursue charges against him,” she added.

“Police use deportation in order to get what they want — which is to get activists outside of the West Bank while continuing to allow settlers to do what they do.”

Activists present with Joughin at the time of the clash denied that any inappropriate behavior took place.

Matthew, who declined to provide his surname, said: “In every single instance, it was the settler kids who approached Finn.”

Foreign Office officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv are in contact with the Israeli government over the matter, a spokesperson said.