London:
British Foreign Secretary David Lamy stated it was “unacceptable” for Israel to detain two British MPs on Saturday and dismissed their actions.
Reports from British media indicated that Labour Party members Ewan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed traveled from London to Israel but were stopped from being deported.
“The detention and refusal to allow two British MPs in the parliamentary delegation by Israeli authorities is unacceptable, counterproductive, and raises deep concerns,” Lamy said in a statement.
“I have made it clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is not the proper way to engage with British lawmakers. We have reached out to both MPs this evening to offer our assistance.
“The priority of the UK government will be to secure a ceasefire and return to talks, halt bloodshed, release hostages, and resolve the conflict in Gaza.”
In a joint statement, the two MPs expressed their shock at the “unprecedented measures” taken by Israel.
They also clarified that their claim of being part of the official parliamentary delegation “was shown to be false, as the official Israeli body was unaware of such a delegation’s visit.”
“A subsequent inquiry clarified that their visit aimed to document the actions of Israeli security forces and to disseminate hate speech against Israel,” the Interior Ministry’s statement added.
The situation led to a domestic dispute between Lamy and conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenok, who expressed her “deep concern about much of the rhetoric” from Israeli Labour MPs during an interview with Sky News.
Lamy responded on social media with a post.
Since last month, a new military initiative has ended a brief ceasefire, and Israel has intensified its push for control over the Gaza Strip in the conflict with Hamas.
Hamas’s health ministry has reported that 1,249 people have died since Israel resumed heavy bombardments last month, raising the total toll since the beginning of the war to 50,609.
As per an AFP tally based on Israeli official data, the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which ignited the war, resulted in 1,218 civilian fatalities, mostly innocent bystanders.
(This story has not been altered by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from the syndicate feed.)
