Israel reportedly detained two woman MPs of the United Kingdom (UK) who were visiting as part of a parliamentary delegation and barred them from entry into the country, British foreign minister David Lammy said in a statement late on Saturday.
The parliamentarians are Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, who were detained over suspicion of having plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred,” Sky News reported, citing a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry.
While Yuan Yang is the member of Parliament representing the Earley and Woodley constituency of UK, Abtisam Mohamed is the MP for Sheffield Central.
Both had flown to Israel from Luton on Saturday, according to Sky News.
What UK said
Lammy said he has conveyed to the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians.
“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,” news agency Reuters quoted British foreign minister David Lammy as saying.
“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,” David Lammy added.
Israel overturned the Gaza ceasefire with Hamas last month with a surprise bombardment in the disputed region after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the ceasefire, a move supported by the White House. Hundreds of Palestinians have since been killed in Israeli strikes.
Israel also has halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel has pledged to escalate the war in Gaza until Hamas returns the remaining hostages seized in the October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
In an unrelated development, Israeli police arrested two of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close associates this week on suspicion of accepting money from Qatar to promote a positive image of the Gulf Arab state in Israel, according to news agency Associated Press.
Qatar is a key mediator for Hamas in its negotiations with Israel but denies backing the militant group. Netanyahu says the case is baseless.
