LONDON, Apr 6 – Two Labour MPs say they are “astounded” to have been denied entry to Israel after being detained in the country on arrival.
Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang said that it was “vital” parliamentarians were able to “witness, firsthand, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory”.
They were refused entry because they intended to “spread hate speech” against Israel, the nation’s population and immigration authority said.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised Israeli authorities, describing the move as “unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning”.
Yang, the MP for Earley and Woodley, and Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, flew to Israel from London Luton Airport with two aides on Saturday afternoon.
The Israeli immigration authority said Interior Minister Moshe Arbel had denied entry to all four passengers after they were questioned. It accused them of travelling to “document the security forces”.
The UK Foreign Office said the group was part of a parliamentary delegation – however Israel’s immigration authority contested this claim, saying the delegation had not been acknowledged by any Israeli official.
The MPs said the trip had been organised with UK charities that had “over a decade of experience in taking parliamentary delegations”.
“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 said in a joint statement.
“Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthful in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted.”
