On Saturday, two Labour MPs from the UK, Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, were turned away at the Israeli border. Israeli officials explained that the MPs were denied entry because they were suspected of wanting to document security operations and promote “anti-Israel hatred.” However, the MPs, who were part of a trip organized by the charities CAABU and Medical Aid for Palestinians, denied these allegations, and said that their intention was simply to observe humanitarian efforts in the West Bank.
The Israeli Embassy later released a statement, claiming that the MPs had shown support for boycotts and sanctions against Israel. Officials claimed that the trip aimed to weaken Israel amidst their war on Gaza. Additionally, Israel’s immigration ministry claimed that they hadn’t received any prior notice about an official parliamentary delegation.
Back home in the UK, political reactions to this were quite mixed. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Israel had a right to control its borders and took some issue with Labour’s language regarding the Israel Palestine situation. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, however, called Badenoch's stance “disgraceful,” while Conservative minister Richard Fuller said that MPs on official visits should be treated with respect. Labour’s Emily Thornberry called the deportation as “an insult to Parliament.”
Yang and Mohamed themselves were taken aback, saying that their goal was to evaluate aid initiatives and fulfill their parliamentary responsibilities in addressing global matters. “We’re all about humanitarian accountability, not aggression,” they said in a joint statement.