British MPs confronted by Israeli settlers during visit to Palestinian territories

Two British MPs were confronted by armed Israeli settlers when visiting the embattled West Bank village of Masafer Yatta, and also witnessed hundreds of settlers storm the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque complex during a six-day visit to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Shockat Adam, an independent MP for Leicester South, and Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, arrived in Israel on 13 April and toured Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm and East Jerusalem - areas recognised under international law and by the British government as being Palestinian territory under Israeli occupation.

The delegation said in a joint statement late on Friday that the trip immediately got off to a rocky start when George, an MP who has repeatedly condemned Israel's 18-month assault on Gaza, was stopped by Israeli border officials.

"George was questioned and taken aside and prevented from entering Israel for 45 minutes, before eventually being permitted entry, following communications with the British Embassy in Tel Aviv and the British Consulate in Jerusalem," the delegation said.

Earlier this month, Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang were refused entry by Israeli authorities to the occupied Palestinian territories on the grounds that they intended to "spread hate speech". The move divided British politicians, with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch publicly expressing support for Israel's decision.

Members of the delegation told Middle East Eye that three days after arriving in occupied Palestine, and during a visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, they witnessed hundreds of Israeli settlers enter the mosque's courtyards to pray.

For decades, Israel has prohibited Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, but ultranationalist settlers and several members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government oppose this stance and have increasingly allowed Jewish prayer there.

Since last Saturday, when the Passover holiday began, an unprecedented 6,315 Israeli settlers have entered the courtyards to pray, in defiance of a delicate status quo governing worship and visits to the site.

Members of the delegation told MEE they witnessed Israeli settler groups enter the mosque complex under police protection, adding that there were few Palestinians inside the mosque.

The MPs also visited Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern West Bank, where they met members of the local Palestinian community and witnessed Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians.

Members of the delegation told MEE that armed settlers and security forces confronted them while they were witnessing how Bedouin farmers had access to their land disrupted, before backing off when they found out there were British parliamentarians in the group.

In Hebron, they said security forces raised their assault rifles as the delegation's vehicle attempted to pass a checkpoint.

This January, Israel launched a military operation called Operation Iron Wall with the aim of tightening its grip on resistance strongholds in the occupied West Bank.

The UN says the operation has seen at least 40,000 Palestinians forced from their homes. In the Tulkarem governorate in the north-west, the MPs met Palestinian families displaced from their homes by the military.

The delegation also visited Ramallah, where they met Palestinian political and human rights figures, including Mustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative.

And in Tel Aviv in Israel, they met with journalists and Israeli and Palestinian human rights campaigners, including the chair of B'Tselem, Israel's largest human rights organisation.

Adam and George are set to hold a press conference on Wednesday, 23 April, to answer questions about their visit.