Two British MPs, Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, were denied entrance to Israel on Saturday, after an investigation reportedly revealed that the two wished to enter the country to document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred, Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority announced.
The two parliamentarians landed at Ben-Gurion Airport at 2:30 pm on Saturday after flying in from Luton with their two aides.
At airport security, the passengers claimed to be part of an official delegation visiting Israel on behalf of the British parliament.
However, the Population and Immigration Authority claimed this was untrue as no official in Israel had approved the arrival of the delegation.
During questioning, the passengers reportedly revealed that the purpose of their arrival was to “document security forces and spread hate speech against Israel.”
As a result, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel decided to refuse entry to the four and subsequently ordered their removal from Israel.
However, on Saturday night, British foreign secretary David Lammy confirmed it was indeed a parliamentary delegation. “It is unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities.”
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British Parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support.”
Who are the MPs?
Abitsam Mohamed was born in Yemen, and is the first Arab woman to be elected as a British MP, and the first ever British Yemeni MP. She currently serves as the Labour MP for Sheffield Central.
Mohamed has previously called for both a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages, praising the “long overdue” return of Emily Damari and two other Gaza captives on 19 January. In her July 2024 acceptance speech, Mohamed said “I will use my voice to advocate for peace, coexistence in the region, for an immediate ceasefire, for the release of hostages on all sides, for the recognition of Palestine.”
However, in a 2 April 2025 Commons Chamber, she accused Israel of ethnic cleansing and of pursuing the destruction of Gaza.
“On 30 March, the first day of Eid, Israeli attacks on Gaza killed dozens of Palestinians, adding to the death toll since Israel breached the ceasefire agreement. Israel is now in the process of enacting the largest forced displacement, ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Rafah.
“How will this end? Israel cannot and will not stop. Is the goal ethnic cleansing? We are witnessing that. Is the goal the complete destruction of Gaza? We are now witnessing that. Is the goal the permanent occupation of Gaza and the West Bank? We continue to witness that. Is the goal a complete end to the two-state solution? Israeli Ministers have made their intentions clear. Will the Minister unequivocally condemn their actions for what they are: war crimes and crimes against humanity?”
Yuan Yang is a British-Chinese Labour MP for Earley and Woodley. She is also the first Chinese-born British citizen to be elected to the UK Parliament.
On 31 March, she posted on her official Facebook page saying “Eid Mubarak! Next week I’ll be visiting the West Bank as part of a parliamentary delegation, and this year I know many of us will be spending Eid thinking of those who are unable to celebrate as we are.”
In a February interview with LBC on 28 March she spoke of the importance of UNRWA’s recognition of the Palestinian refugee status saying that it enables them the “right of return.”
“Israel has restarted the bombing, killing yet more Palestinians, including women and children,” she said.
In a January 7 speech in parliament, she called for sanctions against Israeli politicians Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for “supporting the illegal resettlement of northern Gaza.”
She added that “although we have entered a new year, the horror in Gaza continues,” and called for more action against Israel.
A former journalist, her official website says she is “committed to transparency and accountability.”
Previous bans of politicians
On February 24, MK Arbel banned French-Palestinian politician Rima Hassan from entering Israel due to her involvement in initiatives to boycott Israel and her undermining of the Jewish state’s legitimacy.
Hassan was refused entry to Israel at Ben-Gurion Airport alongside other members of an official delegation of the European Parliament. She was due to visit the West Bank in a trip that had reportedly received prior approval from Israeli authorities.
Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, who urged Arbel to instigate the ban, stated, “Israel is not obligated to allow the entry of any official representative from a foreign country if they engage in boycotting it and undermining its legitimacy.”
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