The UK and Israel exchanged sharp criticisms this weekend after Israel stopped two British lawmakers from entering the country and being sent back to London.
Congressional members Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang both belong to the Left Labour Party of the Governance Centre, and in a joint statement on Sunday they were “surprised” to be refusing to enter Israel the day before. They described the trip as a “delegation” to Israel and the occupied West Bank along with charities “to visit humanitarian projects and communities” as “delegation of the MPS.” Fear of being targeted. ”
Abtisam Mohamedcredit … Roger Harris/House of Commons
Israel refused to characterize the lawmakers’ plans.
The Israeli Immigration Bureau said in a statement that it was “not true” that they were members of the formal parliamentary delegation, adding that Israeli officials had no “knowledge regarding the arrival of the delegation above.”
The statement said Israeli immigration officers questioned lawmakers and two aides and decided to “document security forces” with the intention of “spreading hate speech against Israel.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lamy jumped to the lawmaker’s defense in a statement on Saturday, describing the treatment of “two British lawmakers in Parliamentary delegations” as “unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerned.”
“I have made it clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is not how we treat British lawmakers.”
Yuan Yangcredit … House of Commons
Both Yang and Mohamed joined the British Parliament for the first time in July.
Mohamed is a lawyer. Yang is an economist and a former correspondent for the Financial Times.
The rejection they experienced prompted political debate in the UK, where the Gaza crisis has long been straining.
The Labour Government in some respects had less support for Israel than its centrally right-handed predecessor. In September, the UK announced it would suspend arms exports to Israel. At the time, there was a “clear risk” and some weapons that could be used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law” could be used.
On Sunday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenok defended Israel and appeared to blame lawmakers in a television interview: “What I find shocking is that there are Labour lawmakers that other countries don’t allow,” she said.
These comments were immediately criticized. “It’s embarrassing to be cheerleading other countries to detain and deport two British lawmakers,” Lammy wrote to X.
