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Two Labour MPs have said they are “astounded” to have been denied entry to Israel after being detained in the country on arrival.<\/p>\n
Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang said that it was “vital” parliamentarians were able to “witness, firsthand, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory”.<\/p>\n
They were refused entry because they intended to “spread hate speech” against Israel, the nation’s population and immigration authority said.<\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised Israeli authorities, describing the move as “unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The MPs said the trip had been organised with UK charities that had “over a decade of experience in taking parliamentary delegations”.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthful in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said the MPs had left the country as of 06:00 local time (04:00 BST) on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Lammy said the Foreign Office had been in touch with both MPs to offer support, adding: “I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians.”<\/p>\n
Both Yang and Mohamed – who were first elected in 2024 – have made several interventions on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Parliament.<\/p>\n
In February, Mohamed initiated a cross-party letter, signed by 61 MPs and lords, calling for a ban on goods from Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, citing an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).<\/p>\n
She has also criticised Israel for withholding humanitarian aid from Gaza, telling the House of Commons in October that international law “prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”, and has mentioned humanitarian organisations’ claims of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.<\/p>\n
In January, Yang spoke in favour of bringing sanctions against Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, after they suggested building Israeli settlements in northern Gaza to encourage Palestinians to leave.<\/p>\n
She has also highlighted the dangerous conditions journalists and medical professionals face while in the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n
During the war in Gaza, there have been protests, violent incidents and raids by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Hundreds of deaths have been reported there.<\/p>\n
Israeli troops have been engaged in an extended operation in the occupied Palestinian territory, where two Palestinians were killed on Friday.<\/p>\n
The current war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.<\/p>\n
Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 50,000 people have been killed. It said 1,309 people have died since a ceasefire ended on 18 March.<\/p>\n
Lammy said: “The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n