TWO Labour MPs barred from entering West BanTWO Labour MPs were ‘astounded’ to be denied entry to Israel to visit the occupied West Bank on Saturday and insisted that it is ‘vital’ that British parliamentarians are able to witness the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory ‘first hand’.
Abtisam Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, and Yuan Yang, MP for Earley and Woodley, flew to Israel from London Luton Airport with two aides on Saturday afternoon.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised Israeli authorities, describing the move as ‘unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning’.
The Israeli immigration authority said Interior Minister Moshe Arbel denied entry to all four after they were questioned. It accused them of travelling to ‘document the security forces’.
The Israeli embassy in London said in a statement on Saturday that it ‘will not allow the entry of individuals or entities that act against the state and its citizens’.
It said Mohamed and Yang had ‘accused Israel of false claims’ and were ‘actively involved in promoting sanctions against Israeli ministers’.
It also said they had supported campaigns aimed at boycotting the country ‘at a time when Israel is at war and under attack on seven fronts’.
The UK Foreign Office said the group was part of a parliamentary delegation.
Mohamed and Yang said their trip had been organised with UK charities that had ‘over a decade of experience in taking parliamentary delegations’.
‘We are two, out of scores of MPs, who have spoken out in Parliament in recent months on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the importance of complying with international humanitarian law,’ the MPs said in a joint statement.
‘Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons, without fear of being targeted.’
Lammy said the Foreign Office had been in touch with both MPs to offer support, adding: ‘I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians.’
The Council for Arab-British Understanding and Medical Aid for Palestinians – the latter of which is a registered UK charity – had organised the trip, saying: ‘This visit was part of that long-standing programme.
‘When questioned, the group was clear, open and transparent about the aims and objectives of the visit, which included visiting a range of projects run by humanitarian and development organisations operating in the West Bank.
‘The group had informed the UK consul general in Jerusalem of their visit and was planning to meet with them as part of the itinerary.’
Yang and Mohamed – who were first elected in 2024 – have made several interventions on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Parliament.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, described Yang and Mohamed as ‘highly respected parliamentarians’ and said: ‘Israel is badly advised to try and alienate them, to humiliate them and to treat them in this way.
‘I think that it’s an insult to Britain and I think it’s an insult to Parliament.’
‘Don’t believe Israeli government’ say captives
Al-Qassam BrigADes, the armed wing of Hamas, released on Saturday evening a two-minute video of two Israeli captives who barely escaped death from an Israeli airstrike.
The families of these two captives identified them as Maxim Herkin and soldier Bar Kuperstein.
‘As we stepped out for a moment to grab some fresh air and see the sky and stars, the Israeli army decided to bomb us, hitting the building I was in,’ one of the captives said, adding that they survived thanks to Hamas fighters.
The captive pointed out that he sustained minor injuries on that day when their location was bombed.
‘Our place is unsafe. We have no (enough) food, drink or blankets. Hamas fighters risk their lives so we can get some air outside the tunnel while our army bombs us,’ the captive said.
He added that al-Qassam fighters had to take the Israeli captives back to the tunnels, which he described as concrete boxes, after the Israeli army resumed the war on Gaza, calling for pressuring Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to bring them home.
‘Do not believe what the government says about pressuring Hamas. The result was our suffering from injuries in the strikes. Bring us back to life. We are dead here. Enough – bring us home!’ the captive said.
‘We had been skeletons and we just started to recover, but our government insists on forcing us back into the same conditions as before,’ he added.
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