After barring a 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.
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 AFP.
The delegation had been given entry visas in March, the delegates claimed, yet Israeli border officials revoked them two days before the visit was set to begin.
“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 party, and the Communist Party.
The parliamentary factions represented in the delegation have all called for Palestinian statehood for decades, the group said.
Image - WIN/French National Assembly deputy François Ruffin. (Shutterstock)