Israel blocks entry of MEP to occupied Palestine

The Israeli occupation authorities denied entry to a Spanish member of the European Parliament, who had arrived for a trip to the occupied Palestinian territories, on the pretext of speaking and acting against Israel.

Ana Mirandapaz, a parliamentarian from the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), was part of an official delegation to Palestine made up of four groups from the European Parliament.

Mirandapaz had to wait in the border control zone for at least seven hours, after which she was forced to fly back to Madrid from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.

The border authorities justified the measure by saying that she had been on one of the flotillas to break the siege on the Gaza Strip (an initiative of pro-Palestinian activists to denounce the Israeli blockade against the Strip).

The Israeli foreign ministry also alleged that “members of the European Parliament, who try to harm Israel, who have expressed their support for terrorist organizations, or who in the past attempted to enter Israel illegally, will be denied entry.”

Israel calls Palestinian resistance groups that stand up to the Israeli apartheid and constant killings “terrorist groups or organizations.”

According to Palestinian media, more than 100,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli occupation from the time of the Nakba until the end of 2021.

During the Nakba in 1948, when Israel was created, the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians took place along with the destruction of more than 500 villages and capturing of 78 percent of historic Palestine.

Also, between 600,000 and 750,000 Israelis occupy over 250 illegal settlements built across the West Bank since the 1967 occupation.

The MEP, who is part of the delegations for “relations with Palestine and with Israel”, explained that the cabinet of the president of the Chamber, Roberta Metsola, contacted the Israeli authorities without success to try to reverse the decision.

The incident has been greeted with “concern” and “disappointment” in Brussels. “We regret the decision to deny entry to Israel to Ana Miranda (…) who was traveling via Israel to Palestine as a member of an official delegation of the European Parliament, despite which, she was denied entry,” said Nabila Massrali, a spokeswoman for the European Commission for Foreign Affairs.

Beyond the “deep disappointment” that this decision by Israel entails, Brussels declares itself “surprised” by it, given that the Israeli authorities were notified in advance of the visit, and “her entry had been expressly authorized by the authorities Israelis,” Massrali said. She also stressed that “the members of the European Parliament have the right to exercise their mandate.”

Mirandapaz is known for her opposition to the apartheid regime. In 2018, she declared her full support of the BDS movement. “I am a part of this Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality that urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law,” she said.

The occupied Palestinian territories of East al-Quds and the West Bank cannot be accessed without crossing an Israeli-controlled border post or landing at an Israeli airport. Politicians, activists, or visitors who have spoken out publicly in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Israeli occupation are generally barred by authorities, according to an amendment passed by the Israeli administration in 2017.

Mirandapaz is not the first MEP to be denied entry to the occupied territories by Israel. In fact, Manu Pineda, the United Left MEP and pro-Palestinian activist who chairs the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine, was initially going to participate in this visit, but the Israeli foreign ministry notified him last week that it would not allow him to visit.

Israel has also denied access to those who have engaged in actions or made statements it deems particularly hostile. For example, in 2019, Israel banned Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim lawmakers in US history, from visiting Palestine.

Also in 2008 and 2010, it prevented the entry of American academics Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky, respectively.

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