(Reuters) -Two British members of parliament who were refused entry to Israel have returned to London after attempting to visit the West Bank on a fact-finding trip, they said on Sunday.
Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang from Britain’s governing Labour Party were travelling as part of a parliamentary delegation, but were stopped at the border on the grounds that they intended to provoke anti-Israel activities, according to the Israeli embassy in Britain.
The blocking of their visit marks the latest in a series of attempts by Israel to restrict entry of foreign lawmakers and dignitaries who have criticised the country’s policies.
“We’re astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the Israeli authorities to refuse British MPs entry on our trip to visit the occupied West Bank,” Mohamed and Yang said in a joint statement.
“It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness, firsthand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
The Israeli embassy in London said the interior ministry had a duty to prevent entry to people who intended to cause the state harm.
“These individuals had accused Israel of false claims, were actively involved in promoting sanctions against Israeli ministers, and supported campaigns aimed at boycotting the State of Israel,” the embassy said.
In their statement on Sunday, Mohamed and Yang said they had spoken out in Britain’s parliament about the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the importance of complying with international law.
“Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted,” they said.
In November, Mohamed asked Britain’s government if it would review its relationship with Israel in light of “atrocities taking place in Gaza, the West Bank and in Lebanon”.
Yang had told parliament it was important that Britain proceeded with sanctions against Israeli government officials.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the detention of lawmakers Mohamed and Yang was no way to treat parliamentarians.
Israel has previously stopped members of the European Parliament and U.S. Congress from entering the country.
In October, Israel’s foreign minister said he was barring U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not “unequivocally” condemned a missile attack by Iran on Israel.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Andy Bruce in Manchester; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, David Gregorio, Elaine Hardcastle and Jan Harvey)
