ShareLONDON: The Zionist entity has detained and deported two British members of parliament after refusing to allow them to enter the entity as part of a parliamentary delegation, British Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Sunday. Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed from Britain’s governing Labour Party were barred because they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread hate speech against (the Zionist entity)”, Sky News reported, citing the Zionist entity’s immigration ministry. Both MPs had flown to the entity from Luton on Saturday, Sky News said.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the incident was “unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning.”
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Zionist entity’s government that this is no way to treat British Parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support,” he said in a statement released late on Saturday. “The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza,” he added.
Britain’s deputy finance minister Darren Jones told BBC television on Sunday that the two parliamentarians were on their way home. “The way that my colleagues have been treated is unacceptable, as the foreign secretary has said.” The entity’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yang and Mohamed said in a joint statement published on Mohamed’s account on X that they were “astounded” by the Zionist entity’s treatment. “We’re astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the (Zionist entity’s) authorities to refuse British MPs entry on our trip to visit the occupied West Bank,” they wrote on X. “It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness first-hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
They added: “We are two, out of scores of MPs, who have spoken out in parliament in recent months on the (Zionist entity)-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.” The two parliamentarians said they, along with the delegation, were set to visit humanitarian aid projects and communities in the West Bank with UK charity partners.
But the Zionist entity said their claim to be part of an official parliamentary delegation was “found to be false, as no official body in (the Zionist entity) was aware of such a delegation’s visit,” said the entity’s interior ministry. “Further questioning revealed that the purpose of their visit was to document the actions of (Zionist entity) security forces and spread hate speech against the Zionist entity),” added the ministry in a statement.
The incident sparked a domestic row between Lammy and Conservative leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, who told Sky News on Sunday that she was “very concerned about a lot of the rhetoric” from Labour MPs on the Zionist entity and that she was “not surprised” the pair had been detained. Lammy responded by writing on X: “It’s disgraceful you are cheerleading another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs.” The Zionist entity has previously banned the United Nations Chief António Guterres from entering, declaring him “undesirable.” — Agencies
