Israel is blocking two US Democratic lawmakers and prominent critics of Israel from visiting.

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were due to visit the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem next week.

Both have supported the boycott movement against Israel and Israeli law allows supporters of the campaign to be banned from visiting.

President Trump earlier tweeted it would show “great weakness” if the pair were allowed entry.

A statement from the Israeli Interior Ministry confirming the ban said it was “inconceivable that those who wish to harm the state of Israel while visiting would be granted entry”.

But only last month Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer said the two Democrats would be permitted to visit “out of respect for the US Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America”.

President Trump, who has a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has frequently feuded with the lawmakers and in remarks widely condemned as racist, told them to “go back” to the countries that their families were from.

On Thursday, he took to Twitter to urge that they be blocked, adding that “they hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds”.

According to US media, their trip was meant to begin on Sunday, and would include a stop at one of the most sensitive sites in the region – Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, which is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.

They also planned to visit Israeli and Palestinian peace activists and travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Hebron.

The trip to the West Bank was planned by Miftah, an organisation headed by Palestinian peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi.

Ms Tlaib was planning to stay for two extra days to visit her grandmother, who lives in a Palestinian village.

On Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu held consultations with the country’s foreign minister, interior minister, National Security Council chief and attorney general, according to Haaretz newspaper.

Israeli law blocks entrance visas to any foreigner who calls for any type of boycott that targets Israel – either economic, cultural or academic.

The law attempts to suppress the “boycott, divest, sanction” movement, which has drawn growing support across Europe and the US.

The ban on two foreign dignitaries is rare but not unprecedented. Makarim Wibisono, a UN special rapporteur on human rights, was denied entry in 2015 after Israel said his mandate was anti-Israel.

But no members of US Congress have been blocked before. Israel often hosts congressional delegations. Earlier this month, 41 Democrats and 31 Republicans attended a visit sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby group.

You may also be interested in:

Source: Read Full Article