Two Swedish MEPs from The Left, Jonas Sjöstedt and Hanna Gedin, announced on Monday 24 August that they had been prevented the previous day from entering Israel and travelling to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The MEPs, who were travelling outside the scope of an official European Parliament mission, were stopped as they were about to board their flight from Athens, “despite having entry permits and supporting documents from the European Parliament and the Swedish embassy”, according to a statement by The Left.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the two MEPs had been banned from entering the territory because they “have consistently acted against Israel in recent years, notably by calling for international legal proceedings against Israelis”.
The Left informed the office of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, of this incident. Asked by Agence Europe, the office said it was in contact with the MEPs concerned, “because the safety of Members of the European Parliament is our priority”. The European Parliament is said to be in contact with the Israeli authorities in order to obtain explanations for this refusal of entry. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)