UK Labour MPs 'astounded' to be detained and deported from Israel
Two British parliamentarians have said they are "astounded" to have been briefly detained and deported by Israel.
On Saturday afternoon, Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang arrived in Israel as part of a parliamentary delegation but were refused entry on the grounds that they intended to "spread hate speech" against the country and "document the security forces", according to Israel's Population and Immigration Authority.
But British Foreign Secretary David Lammy slammed the Israeli government on Saturday night, saying the move was "unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerning".
"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."
In an interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she supported Israel's decision, arguing that "every country should be allowed to police its own borders".
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The Israeli interior ministry confirmed that the MPs had left the country as of 6am local time (3am GMT) on Sunday.
'Unprecedented step'
"We're astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the Israeli authorities to refuse British MPs entry on our trip to visit the occupied West Bank," Mohamed and Yang said in a joint statement.
"It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness first hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory," they added.
'We're astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the Israeli authorities to refuse British MPs entry on our trip to visit the occupied West Bank'
- Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang
Since they were elected in 2024, both Mohamed and Yang have been vocal critics of Israel's war on Gaza, making multiple parliamentary interventions over the issue.
Mohamed, who represents Sheffield Central, is a member of the foreign affairs select committee, which scrutinises the Foreign Office and went on a trip to Israel in early March.
That visit ended in controversy after Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel posted a video of the British MPs online without their "knowledge or consent", according to committee chair and senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry.
Mohamed initiated a cross-party letter in February signed by 61 MPs and lords, calling for a ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The letter noted the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion last July that states must not "render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation" caused by Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory - an occupation the ICJ said was illegal.
In January, Yang, who represents Earley and Woodley, spoke in favour of bringing sanctions against far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over their calls to "encourage emigration" of Palestinians from northern Gaza and illegally resettle the territory.
Mohamed and Yang flew to Israel from London Luton Airport with two aides on Saturday afternoon.
The UK Foreign Office said the group was part of a parliamentary delegation, but Israel's immigration authority claimed the delegation had not been acknowledged by an Israeli official.
Mohamed and Yang said: "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.
"Parliamentarians should feel free to speak truthfully in the House of Commons without fear of being targeted."
They added: "We had come on an MPs' delegation to visit humanitarian aid projects and communities in the West Bank with UK charity partners who have over a decade of experience in taking parliamentary delegations."
"We thank them, the staff of the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, the British Consulate in Jerusalem, the Middle East Minister and the Foreign Secretary for their tireless support during our detention and deportation."
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