Israel has detained two members of the UK parliament and refused entry to the officials who were visiting as part of a parliamentary delegation, British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement late on Saturday.
Sky News, citing a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry, reported that the detained parliamentarians were Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, who were rejected because they were suspected of plans to "document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred".
Yang represents the Earley and Woodley constituency in Berkshire, while Mohamed is the MP for Sheffield Central. The MPs had flown to Israel from Luton with their aides on Saturday, according to Sky News and Politics UK.
The two MPs, along with their aides, were briefly detained before being deported.
"It is unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities," Lammy said in the statement.
"I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British Parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support," he added.
On Thursday, Lammy described the Gaza Strip as "the most dangerous place in the world" for aid workers, one year after seven humanitarian workers, including three British nationals, were killed after an Israeli airstrike deliberately targeted their clearly marked World Food Kitchen convoy in Gaza.
Israel has continually stopped critics of its war on Gaza from entering the country, while it completely restricts the entry of the world media into the Palestinian territory.
The UK foreign minister's remarks also come after at least 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers, who went to southern Gaza for a rescue operation, were shot dead after Israeli forces opened fire on their vehicles.
Late last year, Lammy announced that the UK would suspend 30 of the 350 arms export licenses granted to UK companies to supply Israel due to the risk that such weaponry could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Despite this, the UK continues to export components of machinery and munitions used by the Israeli Air Force as it continues to brutally bombard what remains of Gaza, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to describe the events in Gaza as a genocide and has continued to rhetorically and diplomatically support Israel.
Since Israel resumed the heavy bombing of Gaza last month following the collapse of the January ceasefire, at least 1,249 people have been killed — bringing the total death toll since the war began to over 50,600, or more than 61,700 when including those still missing beneath the rubble.
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