International delegation, including British MPs, said barred from West Bank ahead of Palestinian conference

An international delegation, including British MPs, was blocked yesterday from crossing into the West Bank for a conference in Ramallah to oppose Israel’s rule of the territory.

The group was set to participate in Progressive International’s and Birzeit University’s Second Ramallah Congress, which includes meetings with Palestinian academics and civil society groups.

The delegation of 23 representatives from France, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Holland, Ireland and the US was stopped at the Allenby Border Crossing and held for nine hours, Labour MP Sam Tarry tells the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

“They made a political decision very clearly based on the fact they didn’t want people to witness what’s been going on in the West Bank, especially ahead of the elections,” Tarry says.

The British Guardian newspaper says it contacted the Israeli embassy for a comment.