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| Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang |
Two Labour MPs have been denied entry to Israel and detained by authorities on arrival. Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang were accused of entering the country to 'spread hate speech against Israel', according to the Israeli immigration authority. They were detained alongside two aides who were travelling with them.
Neither MP is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group of rabid pro-Palestinian leftists, so the Israeli decision appears to be a little presumptuous at best. While it is true that both Mohamed and Yang have been publicly critical of Israel over the Gaza conflict, is the state of Israel now so fragile and proactively oppressive as to publicly declare that this supposed 'hate speech' is a threat to its being?
Israeli authorities added that Internal Minister Moshe Arbel had formally denied entry to the four individuals after they had been detained and questioned. They also stood accused of entering the country to 'document Israeli security forces'. Again, this is incredibly defensive. The MPs were not set to enter the warzone of Gaza, but merely the occupied West Bank.
Mohamed and Yang - both new MPs elected in last year's general election - issued a joint statement on social media (see below).
The Foreign Secretary sprang to the defence of his 'centrist' comrades, describing their detention as 'unacceptable' and 'counterproductive'.
The following day Lammy embroiled himself in a row with Kemi Badenoch after she backed Israel's actions in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg. The Tory leader said every country had a right to control its own borders and said it was 'shocking we have MPs in Labour who other countries will not allow through'. A clip of that section of the interview can be found
here.
Her unequivocal support for the Israeli authorities drew criticism from Lammy, who described her response as 'disgraceful'. In order to make clear his disdain, he tagged Badenoch into the same X post and sought to further politicise the matter by referring to Conservative MPs having been barred entry from China.
Badenoch then hit back with her own personal attack, questioning Lammy's ability to be a 'good Foreign Sec'. She also referred to the recent letter from various Labour MPs calling for a new airport in Kashmir and 'promoting Hamas propaganda in parliament'. Lammy did not respond further on X.
Badenoch's stance did not even enjoy universal support from her own front bench, with Shadow Treasury Secretary Richard Fuller telling Times Radio he supported the ability of MPs to be 'welcomed into any country'. He also quite rightly questioned the democratic values of a state that barred foreign MPs from its soil, whether it be China, Israel or any state.
There is also the issue of who paid for this trip? When it comes to the Westminster gravy train, one suspects that the answer is glaringly obvious - the humble British taxpayer.
What we found quite telling about this whole affair is how it portrays the demographic shift in Britain, rather than events in the West Bank or Gaza. The two MPs at the centre of this row were both born overseas, while Kemi Badenoch - birth name Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke - was only born in the UK to exploit birthright citizenship, after which her parents took her back to Nigeria. Lammy, although London born, has duel UK-Guyanese citizenship, while the Beeb's Kuenssberg was also born overseas.
When Mohamed was elected for Sheffield Central last year, she became the first Yemeni Member of Parliament. Yang is the first Chinese-born MP, after being elected last year for the Berkshire constituency of Earley and Woodley. Who knew Berkshire was home to so many constituents with a vested interest in Palestine?
The only bona fide Brit named in this article is Fuller, who was born here to British parents and does not share citizenship with a foreign country. To quote Sir Keir Starmer - Britain is changing. Sadly, it is changing beyond belief.
