“Israel” Detained UK MPs at West Bank Border

By Staff, Agencies 

Two British members of Parliament and a Scottish lawmaker said “Israeli” authorities held them for eight hours after they tried to enter the West Bank.

Scottish National Party MP Lara Bird, Labour MP Clive Lewis, and Scottish Greens member of the Scottish Parliament Kate Nevens said officials blocked them from entering on Monday, questioned them, and ultimately sent them back.

The three were part of a Progressive International delegation. Bird said the goal was to “stand alongside Palestinians being attacked for harvesting olives on their own land.”

An “Israeli” embassy spokesperson in the UK claimed that the group “failed to cooperate with border officials” and gave “false information about the purpose of their visit.”

Earlier Monday, the “Israeli” occupation forces said it would shut every land crossing into the West Bank as part of tighter security as “Israeli” elections kicked off on Tuesday.

Bird, who represents Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, said the 23-person group was “interrogated and ultimately prevented from crossing” at the King Hussein Bridge, which links Jordan and the West Bank.

She said border security agents took the group’s passports and then called members in one at a time for separate interviews. Bird described those sessions as involving “a lot of shouting and screaming” and said an official accused her of “hating ‘Israel”’.

After more waiting, she said, the delegation was told it could not cross and was put on a bus back toward the Jordanian border.

Bird told BBC Scotland News, “It was an exercise in intimidation and fear.

“They said they had evidence that I hate ‘Israel’ and that, I think, was one of the reasons they didn’t want to let us in,” Bird stressed.

Lewis, who represents Norwich South, wrote on X that the group had been “made to feel as though they had done something wrong.”

He added, “We knew that by crossing into the occupied Palestinian territories, we risked being detained, interrogated and turned away by ‘Israeli’ authorities. And that, alas, is exactly what happened."

“The simple truth is we had done nothing wrong. We went to show our support for the Palestinian people and highlight the terrible injustice and violence being perpetrated against them,” Lewis emphasized.

Nevens called the ordeal “frightening”, though she said the group was able to “leave safely”.

“What we experienced was only a small fraction of the terrifying reality Palestinians face when they try to cross the same border to reach their families or simply go about their lives,” she said.

In recent days, roughly 2,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in al-Khalil, a city in the southern West Bank. Video circulating online appeared to show bulldozers leveling an entire street. 

Reports have also surfaced of multiple IOF and settler assaults on Palestinians during the yearly olive harvest as the election started.

Speaking in the House of Commons, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the government was “deeply concerned” that the lawmakers had been refused entry to the West Bank. He said officials had taken the matter up with "Israel" and contacted the MPs to offer help.

“More broadly, it’s very, very important that members of this House, as they go about their business – not just in the UK but internationally - have free access so that they can actually do their duties,” he said.

An SNP spokesperson said the party was “proud to stand with the Palestinian people.”