Israel bars entry to left-wing French lawmakers

After barring far-left French member of the EU parliament and deporting two anti-Israel British MPs, Israel prevented a delegation of 27 left-wing French lawmakers and local officials from entering the country.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israel barred entry to dozens of French lawmakers and local officials earlier this month, delegation members claimed on Sunday.

A total of 27 members of the French Parliament and other officials had been slated to visit Israel earlier this month, as part of a five-day tour organized by the French Consulate in Jerusalem to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace,” the group said, according to a report by the French news agency AFP.

The delegates claimed the delegation had been given entry visas in March, yet Israeli border officials revoked them two days before the visit began.

“For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities canceled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” the delegates said. “We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment.”

“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from travelling cannot be without consequences.”

The planned delegation included 17 lawmakers from two far-left factions of the French Parliament, including the Social and Ecologist Group and the Communist Party.

The parliamentary factions represented in the delegation have all called for Palestinian statehood for decades, the group said.

François Ruffin, a Social and Ecologist Group deputy in the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French Parliament, was among those denied entry, along with Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne.

Senator Marianne Margate, a member of the Communist Party, was also slated to take part in the tour, along with Soumya Bourouaha, a deputy in the National Assembly.

Last year, Bourouaha made a solidarity visit to the Gaza border via Egypt to show support for the people of Gaza.

The cancellation of the entry visas came days after Israel denied entry to two anti-Israel far-left British MPs after they landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport on April 5, forcing both lawmakers to board return flights to the UK.

In February, European Parliament member Rima Hassan was barred from entering Israel over her support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.