Israel blocks two UK MPs from entering country

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Israel detained two British members of parliament on Saturday and barred them from entering the country in a move that the UK foreign secretary branded “unacceptable, counter-productive and deeply concerning”.

David Lammy criticised the Israeli authorities’ treatment of the two Labour party MPs — Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed — who he said had landed in Israel “on a parliamentary delegation”.

“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British Parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs . . . to offer our support,” he said.

Israel’s population and immigration ministry said it had no record of a parliamentary visit, and claimed the two politicians and their two aides had been refused entry to the country as they intended to “document the activities of the security forces and spread hate speech against Israel”.

In a joint statement, Yang — a former Financial Times journalist — and Mohamed said they had been planning to visit humanitarian aid projects and communities in the occupied West Bank and were “astounded” at the Israeli authorities’ decision to bar them from entry.

“It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness first hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,” they said.

“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. Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons without fear of being targeted.”

The incident also sparked a domestic political spat, after leader of the opposition Conservative party Kemi Badenoch threw her support behind the Israeli government’s actions.

“Countries should be able to control their borders,” Badenoch told the BBC. “What I think is shocking is that we have MPs in Labour who other countries would not allow through. I think that’s very significant.” 

She cited Israel’s account that it did not believe the MPs were “going to comply with their laws”, adding: “MPs do not have diplomatic immunity.”

Lammy hit back on X, saying: “It’s disgraceful you are cheerleading
another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs. Do you
say the same about Tory MPs banned from China?”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also weighed in, accusing Badenoch of “unbelievably poor judgment” over her remarks.

In February, a delegation of EU members of parliament cancelled a trip to Jerusalem and Ramallah after Israel barred two MEPs and two staff from entering, accusing one of the MEPs of promoting boycotts of the country.

Since 2017, Israeli legislation has allowed border authorities to bar entry to non-Israeli citizens who have called for boycotts of Israel.

This year, the law was expanded to allow the barring of people who have denied Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack on Israel, or expressed support for the international prosecution of Israeli soldiers.

Dame Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said the treatment of the two UK MPs was “badly advised” and an “insult” to Britain and its parliament.

Israel will “rue the day that they did this to British parliamentarians”, she told the BBC, adding that the two MPs in question were “potential leaders” of the future. 

“They are highly respected parliamentarians, and Israel is badly advised to try to alienate them, to humiliate them, and to treat them in this way because people listen to what these two young women say, and they will do for decades to come,” she added.

Thornberry urged Israel to “start making friends as opposed to alienating people” and be open to scrutiny.