An international delegation including British politicians has been barred from entering the West Bank on a trip to meet Palestinian children, farmers and society leaders facing escalating violence from Israeli forces during olive harvest season.
The delegation of 23 people, including four elected representatives, was drawn from countries including France, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Holland, Ireland and the US. It included the Labour MP Clive Lewis, the Scottish National party MP Lara Bird, the Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens and the former Labour MP Sam Tarry.
Lewis told the Guardian: “We were detained, taken aside and then interrogated. I use the word interrogated because people were shouted at. We were asked why we were going in, what was happening, why our stories were one way or the other. The bottom line was it was a deeply unpleasant experience.”
The delegates were set to participate in Progressive International’s Second Ramallah Congress, a gathering to oppose Israeli occupation in Palestine . The congress was organised by Progressive International in partnership with Birzeit University and includes a programme of meetings with Palestinian academics, students and civil society organisations.
Tarry told the Guardian that he thought the delegation had a “genuine chance of going across” into the West Bank but they were detained at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge by Israeli forces in Jordan for nine hours. “They made a political decision very clearly based on the fact they didn’t want people to witness what’s been going on in the West Bank, especially ahead of the elections,” he added.
The exclusions occurred amid attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinian olive farmers and foreign press and activists in the region. International travel to parts of the West Bank is permitted but subject to military checkpoints. Earlier this month, Israeli media reported that the defence minister, Israel Katz, had instructed officials to pursue exclusion orders against activists travelling to Palestinian olive-harvesting areas.
In the first two weeks of October, the UN aid coordination office recorded at least 160 Israeli settler attacks linked to the olive harvest, often under the protection or with the participation of Israeli forces.
Israeli forces attacked European diplomats and a French mayor accompanying Palestinian farmers, while about 80 olive-harvest volunteers, including US congressional candidate Brad Lander, were also recently detained .
Bird said in a statement: “I came to stand alongside Palestinians being attacked for harvesting olives on their own land. Instead, we were turned away at the border with no reason given.
“It is more important now than ever that we bear witness and show our solidarity. But we were prevented from doing so. If Israel has nothing to hide, why is it so determined to stop us seeing what is happening in the occupied West Bank?”
Laila Hazaineh, a political coordinator for Progressive International, said in a statement: “Despite escalating violence, our delegation remained determined to cross to Palestine to participate in the olive harvest, and actively engage with Palestinian communities and institutions. Every refusal of entry will only strengthen this determination.”
The embassy of Israel has been contacted for comment.
