“Israel” Bars EU Parliament Member from Entering Entity

By Staff, Agencies

A member of the European Parliament was turned around at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and sent back to her native Spain after attempting to enter the “Israeli” entity on a diplomatic mission to the Palestinian Authority [PA].

“Israeli” officials cited the fact that the politician Ana Miranda, who represents the Galicia region, participated in a 2015 flotilla that attempted to break the “Israeli” entity’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. The “Israeli” entity’s law prohibits supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement from entering the entity and US Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were barred from visiting in 2019.

But Politico obtained emails sent earlier this month from the “Israeli” entity’s foreign ministry that granted Miranda permission to visit.

“It’s a diplomatic conflict [and] it’s intolerable that ‘Israel’ exerts control over members of a delegation that’s going to Palestine, not going to ‘Israel’,” Miranda told Politico.

Roberta Metsola, president of the EU parliament, wrote on Twitter that she was “deeply disappointed” by the incident and “will be contacting ‘Israel’s’ authorities to clarify what happened.”

Miranda, a member of the Greens/European Free Alliance group, was part of a delegation of eight EU lawmakers. Some had planned to visit the “Israeli” entity, while others planned to visit the occupied West Bank.

Politico reported that the “Israeli” foreign ministry emails show that another proposed member of the delegation, Manu Pineda, was barred from entry over his alleged support of Hamas. Pineda denies supporting Hamas, but he did not attempt to visit after his request to was denied.

“Respect for all elected MEPs and the European Parliament is essential for good EU-‘Israel’ relations,” Nabila Massrali, the European Commission’s spokesperson for foreign affairs, told Politico. “This decision is deeply disappointing.”