Israel Turns Back International Delegation, Including British Politicians, at West Bank Crossing

Israeli authorities have prevented an international delegation, including several British politicians, from entering the occupied West Bank, where they had planned to meet Palestinian farmers and civil society leaders facing violence from the Israeli military.

The group was reportedly held by Israeli soldiers for nine hours at the King Hussein Bridge, the crossing from Jordan. It included members from the United States, France, Spain, Switzerland and Ireland as well as the United Kingdom.

The 23 delegates were traveling to take part in the Second Ramallah Congress, organized by Progressive International. The conference opposes Israel's illegal occupation and draws Palestinian academics, students and civil society groups.

Among those in the delegation were Labour MP Clive Lewis, Scottish National Party MP Lara Bird, Scottish Green Party MSP Kate Nevens and former Labour MP Sam Tarry.

Lewis described the experience to the Guardian. "We were detained, taken aside and then interrogated. I use the word interrogated because people were shouted at," he said. He added that the group was asked why they were entering and why their accounts differed, and called it "a deeply unpleasant experience."

Bird wrote on X that the group was held for eight hours and ultimately blocked from crossing, with no reason given. She said she had come to stand with Palestinians who are attacked while harvesting olives on their own land. She also said Palestinians face increasing blockades, demolitions and violence from the Israeli military and illegal settlers, and that bearing witness was more important than ever.

Israel banned 11 British MPs from entering the country last month in retaliation for the UK sanctioning illegal settlements. The politicians turned back on Monday were not among them. The British government has not commented on the incident.

Layla Hazaineh, a political coordinator for Progressive International, said the delegation had remained determined to reach Palestine despite escalating violence, in order to join the olive harvest and engage with Palestinian communities and institutions. "Every refusal of entry will only strengthen this determination," she said.

The episode comes amid wider restrictions. The Israeli army said it would close all land crossings into and out of the West Bank on Tuesday for the Israeli general election, and would bar Palestinian workers from most West Bank areas from Sunday through Monday. Israeli forces have also locked down Hebron and begun a broad assault there involving home raids, arrests, demolitions and the forced displacement of thousands of people. Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said 488 families, more than 3,100 people, had been forced to leave. According to the city's Support and Relief Committee, they include over a thousand children, dozens of elderly people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was "deeply alarmed" by Israeli settler expansion and continuing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. He warned of "an increasingly coercive environment with the spectre of ethnic cleansing looming ever larger."