Israel has denied entry to two British Labour MPs visiting the West Bank, the latest in a series of bans on UK parliamentarians
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| View of the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, near the West Bank city of Hebron.Gershon Elinson/Flash90 |
Two British Labour MPs were denied entry into Israel while travelling as part of a parliamentary delegation to the West Bank, their offices confirmed Tuesday. Simon Opher, MP for the British town of Stroud, and Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, were part of a group scheduled to meet British diplomats in Jerusalem as well as Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations.
The visit, organized by the Council for Arab-British Understanding, aimed to give British lawmakers a first-hand view of medical and humanitarian work in the West Bank, including projects run by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). Opher’s office called the Israeli decision “deeply regrettable,” saying it prevented them from witnessing the conditions facing medical facilities and from hearing the UK government’s assessment on the ground.
This is not the first time British parliamentarians have been barred. In April, Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were denied entry and deported, with Israeli authorities claiming they intended to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred.”
