Pro-Palestinian Scottish lawmaker strip-searched on Israel trip

A pro-Palestinian Scottish lawmaker travelling to the occupied Palestinian territories on a parliamentary fact-finding mission has been strip-searched by Israeli forces upon arrival and refused entry.

Andrew Murray, the head of the Friends of Palestine group in the Scottish National Party (SNP), was detained at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Monday and held in custody for over 24 hours, he told AFP on Friday.

"They strip-searched me, scanned me, swabbed me everywhere," Murray said, adding, "Twice I asked for representation from the British embassy, twice I was told no."

He was later deported and banned from entering the occupied territories for 10 years, apparently over his campaign for Palestinian rights.

Carol Monaghan, a member of the SNP, said that she "absolutely condemned" the Israelis’ behavior, adding, "Andy was there on a peaceful, fact-finding trip."

Sabine Haddad, a spokesperson for Israel’s interior ministry, claimed that Murray lied about the reason of his trip by saying he was a tourist.

Murray, however, responded that he did not lie about any of the questions asked.

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