Israel blocks entry of MEP to Occupied Palestine

The Israeli occupation authorities denied entry to a Spanish member of the European Parliament, who had arrived for a trip to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, on the pretext of speaking and acting against Israel.

Ana Mirandapaz, a parliamentarian from the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), was part of an official delegation to Palestine made up of four groups from the European Parliament.

Mirandapaz had to wait in the border control zone for at least seven hours, after which she was forced to fly back to Madrid from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.

The border authorities justified the measure by saying that she had been on one of the flotillas to break the siege on the Gaza Strip (an initiative of pro-Palestinian activists to denounce the Israeli blockade against the Strip).

The Israeli foreign ministry also alleged that “members of the European Parliament, who try to harm Israel, who have expressed their support for terrorist organizations, or who in the past attempted to enter Israel illegally, will be denied entry.”

Israel calls Palestinian resistance groups that stand up to the Israeli apartheid and constant killings “terrorist groups or organizations.”

According to Palestinian media, more than 100,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli occupation from the time of the Nakba until the end of 2021.

Also, between 600,000 and 750,000 Israelis occupy over 250 illegal settlements built across the West Bank since the 1967 occupation.

Mirandapaz is known for her opposition to the apartheid regime. In 2018, she declared her full support of the BDS movement. “I am a part of this Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality that urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law,” she said.

The occupied Palestinian territories of East al-Quds and the West Bank cannot be accessed without crossing an Israeli-controlled border post or landing at an Israeli airport. Politicians, activists, or visitors who have spoken out publicly in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Israeli occupation are generally barred by authorities, according to an amendment passed by the Israeli administration in 2017.

ME