Chomsky gives lecture by video

Around 100 students packed into a room at Bir Zeit University near the West Bank city of Ramallah to watch the lecture, delivered by live-link.

Chomsky had been due to give the lecture in person on Monday, but was stopped from entering the West Bank at the Israeli-controlled crossing from Jordan. After hours of questioning by officials, Chomsky’s passport was stamped with “Denied Entry” and he was sent away.

Israel’s interior ministry insisted the incident was a “misunderstanding” and said the 81-year-old professor had not been blacklisted, while a senior government source described the situation as “a total cockup”.