British MPs barred from entering Israel say they were ‘astounded’ by treatment

Two British members of parliament who were refused entry to Israel yesterday have now returned to London, they say.

Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang from the UK’s governing Labour Party were traveling 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.

“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 say in a joint statement. “It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness, firsthand, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

They add that “parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted.”

Israel’s Interior Ministry said it barred the two lawmakers from entering since they stated during questioning that the purpose of their visit was “to document Israeli security forces and spread hateful rhetoric against Israel.”