Israel has denied entry to two British lawmakers who were accused of planning to “spread anti-Israel hatred.”
Over the weekend, Labour Members of Parliament Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were briefly detained and refused entry to Israel. This was due to suspicions that they intended to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred,” according to Israel’s immigration agency as reported by Sky News.
According to Israeli officials, Yang and Mohamed, accompanied by two assistants, claimed they were part of an official parliamentary delegation during the trip.
The officials said that immigration agents did not find “evidence to support the claim… they were traveling as part of an official delegation.”
Rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, in Gaza City on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
Mohamed expressed concerns about Israeli actions, particularly in light of the recent deadly attacks on Palestinians in Gaza that escalated after Israel violated a ceasefire agreement. The forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Rafah raised questions about Israel’s intentions, including potential ethnic cleansing and the complete destruction of Gaza, Mohamed stated.
In August 2019, Israeli officials blocked U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from entering the country following pressure from President Donald Trump.
In this image made from a video released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement at the time that Talib and Omar’s itinerary “revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy.”
Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
