Two Labour MPs who were denied entry to Israel are on their way home to the UK, a UK minister has said.
Israel detained the two British members of parliament and refused entry to the officials who were visiting as part of a parliamentary delegation, British foreign minister David Lammy said in a statement late on Saturday.
The MPs are Labour’s Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed.
Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, treasury chief secretary Darren Jones said: “We know that there were two Labour MPs who were on a parliamentary delegation to Israel who, for reasons I’m not aware of at this stage, were held at the airport on arrival.
“They’re now on the way home to the United Kingdom but the foreign secretary has spoken to his counterpart in the Israeli government overnight to say that clearly, it’s unacceptable for British members of parliament on a parliamentary delegation to be detained in that way.”
The two Labour MPs who were denied entry to Israel have said that it is “vital” parliamentarians are able to “witness firsthand” the situation on the ground in Palestine.
In a joint statement posted on Twitter, the pair said: “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.
“It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness first-hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
Sky News, citing a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry, reported the parliamentarians were rejected because they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred”.
Both had flown to Israel from Luton on Saturday, Sky News said.
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support,” Mr 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,” he further added. – Agencies
