Two Scottish politicians have reportedly been detained by Israel after attempting to enter Palestine. SNP MP Lara Bird and Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens were trying to enter the West Bank via Jordan when they were stopped by Israel and held for around eight hours.
Politicians blocked at the border
Labour MP Clive Lewis, former Labour MP Sam Tarry, and Josu Estarrona Elizondo, a representative of the Basque EH Bildu party in the Spanish senate, were also said to have been blocked from entering the Palestinian territory.
As serving MPs, Bird, who represents Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, and Lewis were told they could ask for special permission to enter Palestine from Israel's foreign minister. It is understood everyone else was refused entry.
Official reason cited
A letter seen by The National said that the non-MPs were being barred from entering Palestine due to the "prevention of illegal immigration".
Bird said: "I came to stand alongside Palestinians being attacked for harvesting olives on their own land. Instead, we were turned away at the border with no reason given.
"It is more important now than ever that we bear witness and show our solidarity. But we were prevented from doing so. If Israel has nothing to hide, why is it so determined to stop us seeing what is happening in the Occupied West Bank?"
Lewis added: "We knew that by crossing into the occupied Palestinian territories, we risked being detained, interrogated and turned away by Israeli authorities. And that, alas, is exactly what happened.
"For more than eight hours, we were held, interrogated and made to feel as though we had done something wrong simply by attempting to enter. The simple truth is we had done nothing wrong."
Planned visit and context
The group had been trying to attend Progressive International's Second Ramallah Congress and were due to meet Palestinian students and civil society leaders at Birzeit University, as well as accompany Palestinian farmers facing escalating Israeli settler violence during the olive harvest.
It comes as Israel's elections look set for deadlock as the country goes to the polls in what many believe is the most important vote of the country's history. Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party and the main opposition bloc Yashar, headed by Gadi Eisenkot, look like they are running an extremely tight race.
Close to 70,000 Israelis are believed to be flying home to take part in the elections as there is no postal vote and exit polls will emerge soon after 10pm on Tuesday, October 27. A major security clampdown has been ordered throughout the country amid fears of growing unrest and military operations across the West Bank and over the Gaza War.
Latest polling suggests Yashar may have an edge over Likud, although it is a near-certainty neither party will win a majority sufficient to form a government. The Government of Israel, the SNP, the Scottish Greens, and the UK Foreign Office have been contacted for comment.
