Deportation of British MPs aims to hide Israeli crimes
For the first time in history, the Israeli government has deported two elected British members of parliament. While it has previously denied entry to politicians from other countries, including two members of the European Parliament in February, it had never before done so in the case of Britain, which is theoretically an ally of Israel.
Even after having organised and escorted dozens of British parliamentary delegations to the Middle East in recent decades, especially to the occupied Palestinian territories, it came as a shock to learn of the deportations.
This was just the most recent of a long running programme of Parliamentary delegations, we, at the Council for Arab British Understanding (Caabu), have organised.
The delegation, organised jointly with Medical Aid for Palestinians, included two British Labour members of parliament, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang. Elected just last year, neither had previously visited Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories.
Their weekend ordeal of detention, interrogation and deportation was, of course, nothing in comparison to what Palestinians in the occupied territories endure on a regular basis.
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Israel’s official explanation for refusing entry to the two MPs was simply false, asserting that the delegation was visiting Israel to “document the security forces and to spread hate speech against Israel”.
Their deportation forms stated that it was done for the “prevention of illegal immigration considerations”. But all members of the delegation had received Israeli travel authorisation prior to their arrival - so Israeli authorities knew the delegates were coming and what they would be doing.
Another red herring was Israel’s claim that this was not an “official delegation”. This is hardly grounds for deportation. Since 1997, Caabu has taken 161 parliamentary delegates to the occupied Palestinian territories. None were official delegations, but they included party leaders, ministers and chairs of select committees. No participants have ever complained that they were brought on a propaganda tour designed to spread hatred.
Conservative Friends of Israel also organises delegations to the region without issue. The group says it has coordinated 24 delegations to Israel for more than 180 Conservatives over the past decade.
Extraordinary reactions
Caabu’s delegations aim to offer participants a first-hand look at the situation on the ground, including visits to Palestinian communities and humanitarian projects. Mohamed and Yang would have visited a hospital, a mobile clinic, and a disability project in a refugee camp.
They would have spoken with Bedouins facing settler violence and forcible displacement. They would have met representatives of humanitarian agencies, such as Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and the West Bank Protection Consortium, which receives British funding.
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They would have met staff of the Israeli rights group B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch. In a delegation focused on humanitarian issues and civil society, they would have held meetings with UN agencies and British diplomats.
The real reason for the deportations was clearly the views of the delegates and who they planned to visit. “We were denied entry based on our legitimate political opinions, which are firmly aligned with international law,” Mohamed told parliament.
Which MPs will be banned next? Will Israel provide a list? Gaza is already closed off ... Is this the future for the occupied West Bank?
The British government has backed the MPs, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling their deportations “unacceptable” and “counterproductive”.
What was extraordinary, however, were the reactions of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Wendy Morton, the shadow foreign minister, as they backed Israel’s decision and showed no sympathy for the ordeal of their fellow parliamentarians.
Badenoch and Morton would do well to consider that many senior Conservative MPs have been on Caabu delegations. The itineraries are similar to the programmes followed by select committees on official visits.
Morton argued that Israel has the right to deny entry to anyone visiting Israel, citing the UK Foreign Office’s warning that “some visitors may face longer searches and questioning, including those who are considered to have publicly criticised the State of Israel”.
Nobody has argued that Israel does not have that right. This is an absurd argument. Israel can expel the UK or even the US ambassador if it so chooses, but that would not make it a friendly or justifiable action. As Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said: “It is no way to treat democratically elected representatives of a close partner nation.”
Where does this end?
Parliamentarians have no choice but to go through Israeli border controls to get to the occupied West Bank. Banning MPs from entry prevents them from making an assessment of this conflict, including how hundreds of millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money has been spent.
The UK is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, with a legal and moral duty to push to resolve such conflicts, and to stand up for international law.
Where does this end? Which MPs will be banned next? Will Israel provide a list? Gaza is already closed off; diplomats, journalists, politicians, human rights groups and aid agencies cannot access it. Is this the future for the occupied West Bank?
This incident highlights the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. His regime ignores international law, slanders the UN, and treats even its allies with contempt. Members of the Israeli public have been demonstrating against this government in ever-greater numbers.
The biggest issue, however, is what this means for Palestinians, who are being increasingly isolated and cut off from the world. UN agencies have less freedom of operations, and humanitarian agencies face draconian Israeli registration procedures. Today more than ever, Palestinians are vulnerable, exposed to the most extreme right-wing government in Israel’s history, backed by the most extreme regime in American history.
The question Israel should be made to answer is this: what does it have to hide? This applies to both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
As Israeli leaders stand accused of the most serious crimes at the world’s highest courts - including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide - this cover-up will only give credence to those allegations. If Israel wants to counter the accusations, then it must stop denying entry to the occupied Palestinian territories.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
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