Jonas Sjöstedt and Hanna Gedin, MEPs from The Left, were denied entry to Israel and prevented from continuing their journey to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The political group The Left in the European Parliament has denounced this, stating that the incident took place yesterday and that they have reported the matter to the office of the President of the European Parliament. The two MEPs, it is reported, had planned to meet with Save the Children, visit refugee camps and meet with Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations, in order to gather testimonies on the deteriorating conditions and apartheid in the West Bank. They were stopped as they were about to board their flight from Athens, despite being in possession of entry permits and supporting documentation from the European Parliament and the Swedish Embassy. “Israel is increasingly preventing people from entering the country, even members of parliament. We were denied entry on political grounds because we criticised Israel and called for Israeli ministers to be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC),” said MEP Jonas Sjöstedt. “It is unacceptable that a country which still maintains relations and trade agreements with the EU should deny elected representatives the opportunity to see for themselves what is happening and to meet the people experiencing this situation on the ground,” said Hanna Gedin. The decision to deny entry to Members of the European Parliament, whilst the EU continues to allow Israeli politicians to travel freely in Europe, constitutes an attack on the institutions of the European Union, according to The Left group.
Middle East, The Left: ‘Two MEPs denied entry to Israel’
Jonas Sjöstedt and Hanna Gedin, MEPs from The Left, were denied entry to Israel and prevented from continuing their journey to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The political group The Left in the European Parliament has denounced this, stating that the incident took place yesterday and that they have reported the matter to the office of the President of the European Parliament. The two MEPs, it is reported, had planned to meet with Save the Children, visit refugee camps and meet with Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations, in order to gather testimonies on the deteriorating conditions and apartheid in the West Bank. They were stopped as they were about to board their flight from Athens, despite being in possession of entry permits and supporting documentation from the European Parliament and the Swedish Embassy. “Israel is increasingly preventing people from entering the country, even members of parliament. We were denied entry on political grounds because we criticised Israel and called for Israeli ministers to be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC),” said MEP Jonas Sjöstedt. “It is unacceptable that a country which still maintains relations and trade agreements with the EU should deny elected representatives the opportunity to see for themselves what is happening and to meet the people experiencing this situation on the ground,” said Hanna Gedin. The decision to deny entry to Members of the European Parliament, whilst the EU continues to allow Israeli politicians to travel freely in Europe, constitutes an attack on the institutions of the European Union, according to The Left group.