2 UK MPs claim they were denied entry into Israel for West Bank visit

LONDON: Two British Labour MPs claim they were blocked from entering Israel while travelling as part of a parliamentary delegation to the occupied West Bank.

According to media reports on Tuesday, Simon Opher and Peter Prinsley were due to meet UK diplomats in Jerusalem this week as well as Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations. Their visit was organized by the Council for Arab-British Understanding.

In a statement on Tuesday, Opher’s office said the purpose of the trip was to “enable members of parliament to witness the vital medical and humanitarian work of a range of organizations including Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in the occupied West Bank.”

The statement continued: “It is deeply regrettable that Israeli authorities prevented them from seeing first-hand the grave challenges facing medical facilities in the region and from hearing the British government’s assessment of the situation on the ground.”

Opher, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Health and was previously a full-time doctor in Dursley, has since returned to the UK from Jordan.