2 British politicians ‘denied entry’ into Israel

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Two British Labour MPs said Tuesday that they were denied entry into Israel while travelling as part of a parliamentary delegation to the occupied West Bank.

Simon Opher and Peter Prinsley were part of a delegation organized by the Council for Arab-British Understanding, which had scheduled meetings this week with British diplomats in Jerusalem as well as with Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups.

Opher’s office said in a statement that the aim of the visit was to “enable members of parliament to witness the vital medical and humanitarian work of a range of organizations including Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in the occupied West Bank."

“It is deeply regrettable that Israeli authorities prevented them from seeing first-hand the grave challenges facing medical facilities in the region and from hearing the British government’s assessment of the situation on the ground," it added.

According to media reports, Opher has returned to the UK from Jordan.

The incident mirrors earlier cases this year.

In April, Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were refused entry into Israel and sent back to the UK.

Israeli authorities alleged that they planned to "document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred," citing the MPs' prior criticism of Israel's military actions and their support for sanctions against Israeli ministers.