Image: Department of Homeland Security police officers arrest a person outside of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on January 14, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Stephen Maturen / Getty Images

The Trump administration chartered a private jet owned by an Israeli American businessman to deport eight Palestinians to the occupied West Bank this week, new reporting says.

The Palestinians were taken in a Gulfstream IV owned by a real estate partner of President Donald Trump, Haaretz reports, and handed over to Israeli Prison Service officials by U.S. law enforcement. Israeli officials then transported them to a checkpoint by an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, where they were released.

The Israeli outlet says that footage shows one of the deported Palestinians exiting the plane with his hands in cuffs, with Israeli security personnel awaiting him at the bottom of the steps.

U.S. officials claimed that the Palestinians were in the U.S. illegally, though Haaretz does not identify its sources, and the Trump administration has swept up countless legal residents in its immigration raids.

The Department of Homeland Security has targeted Palestinians and pro-Palestine activists in its sweeping crackdown on immigrants. It is currently in the process of trying to deport Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil to Algeria, and has previously tried to target other pro-Palestine advocates with visa revocations and other actions. Numerous pro-Israel groups have also aided in the administration’s campaign against pro-Palestine activists.

The identity of the jet owner is unclear. However, reports have previously found that the Trump administration has used an Israeli-owned jet to deport immigrants.

Click here for full article.