Israel Blocked These Two UK Lawmakers From Entering The Country And Deported Them For Supporting Palestine
The Israeli embassy in London said in a statement that the country "will not allow the entry of individuals or entities that act against the state and its citizens".
Israel has denied entry to two British members of parliament and deported them back to the UK, accusing them of planning to "document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred".
Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, who were part of a UK parliamentary delegation, had planned to visit the region to investigate Israel’s ongoing war and assess its humanitarian impact.
The two had flown from London to Israel with two aides on Saturday, April 5, but were all denied entry by Israel’s interior minister after they were questioned.
The MPs had been traveling as part of a parliamentary delegation on a trip organized by the Council for Arab-British Understanding and aid group Medical Aid For Palestinians.
However, the Israeli immigration authorities said they found “no evidence” that the women were traveling as part of an official delegation.
The Israeli embassy in London said in a statement that the country "will not allow the entry of individuals or entities that act against the state and its citizens", according to the BBC.
“We’re astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the Israeli authorities to refuse British MPs entry on our trip to visit the occupied West Bank,” Yang and Mohamed said in a joint statement on X.
“It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness first-hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,” they wrote.
“We are two, out of scores of MPs, who have spoken out in parliament in recent months on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the importance of complying with international humanitarian law,” they added. “Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted.”
The Israeli government’s decision has sparked outrage in the UK, including a strong condemnation from Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Israel previously barred United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country in 2024, declaring him “undesirable,” **according to Al Jazeera.
In February, two members of the European Parliament were similarly denied entry for their criticism of the war.
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