Two British Members of Parliament who were denied entry into Israel and briefly detained are now on their way back to the UK, a government minister confirmed on Sunday.
Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed had traveled to Israel as part of a parliamentary delegation but were blocked from entering the country. According to Sky News, the Israeli immigration ministry alleged the MPs intended to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred.”
“They are on their way home now,” Deputy Finance Minister Darren Jones told the BBC. “The way that my colleagues have been treated is unacceptable, as the Foreign Secretary has said.”
Both MPs had flown to Israel from Luton Airport on Saturday.
In a statement issued late Saturday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed his concern: “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.”
He added that the UK government remains focused on achieving a ceasefire and advancing negotiations to end the conflict in Gaza, free hostages, and stop the bloodshed.
Israel’s foreign ministry has not yet commented on the incident. Photo by Utilisateur:Djampa, Wikimedia commons.