UK MPs barred from entering Israel

Two pro-Palestinian British MPs were denied entry and subsequently deported from Israel after the authorities accused them of misrepresenting the nature of their visit and planning to promote anti-Israeli views.

Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, both members of the governing Labour Party, landed in Tel Aviv at 2:30 pm local time on Saturday, accompanied by two aides. During questioning at Ben Gurion Airport, they told border officers they were part of an official UK parliamentary delegation – a claim Israeli immigration officials described as “false.”

Israeli officials claimed that the lawmakers intended to “document Israeli security forces and spread hateful rhetoric.” Interior Minister Moshe Arbel ordered their removal “in accordance with the law.”

The Israeli Embassy in London said in a statement that Mohamed and Yang were barred from entry “after accusing Israel of false claims, calling for a boycott, spreading lies, and actively promoting sanctions against Israeli ministers while supporting campaigns aimed at boycotting the State of Israel.”

“The visit was intended to provoke, harm Israeli citizens, and spread falsehoods about them,” the embassy added, as quoted by British media. “It is Israel’s responsibility to prevent the entry of such individuals (just as is the practice in the United Kingdom).”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the decision “unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning.” 

“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 tonight to offer our support,” he said. Lammy reaffirmed the government’s commitment to “securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza.”

Mohamed is the UK’s first MP of Yemeni descent and has been a vocal critic of Israel’s operations in Gaza and has accused the Jewish state of “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians. She previously urged the British government to “review its relationship with Israel” and initiated a campaign aimed at banning Israeli goods.

Yang, the country’s first Chinese-born MP, has called on the UK government to impose sanctions on Israeli officials.