Israel has held in detention two members of parliament from Britain and blocked entry to officials who were present as part of a parliamentary mission, the foreign secretary of Britain said in a statement.
Labor MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang were refused and turned back on arrival due to being suspected of conspiracies to “document the work of security personnel and disseminate anti-Israeli hatred,” Israel’s immigration ministry said in a statement quoted by Sky News.
Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley in Berkshire, and Mohamed, the MP for Sheffield Central, both flew into Ben Gurion airport from Luton with their aides, according to reports.
UK Decries Treatment of British Lawmakers
British Foreign Minister David Lammy called it “unacceptable” and highly troubling that Israel had detained and refused entry to the politicians, who arrived in the country from Luton on Saturday.
“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,” he 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.”
Ongoing Conflict in Gaza
As new military actions last month brought an abrupt end to a brief lull in its conflict with Hamas, Israel has accelerated efforts to capture ground in the Gaza Strip in what it described as a bid to compel militants to release hostages still held.
The Hamas-ruled Gaza health ministry reported 1,249 fatalities since Israel resumed heavy bombing last month, taking the total number of deaths since the war started to 50,609.