Four MPs and 19 others held nine hours at Jordan border

A 23-person international delegation was denied entry to the West Bank on October 26 after Israeli forces detained them at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge for nine hours. The group included four elected officials from the United Kingdom: Labour MP Clive Lewis, Scottish National party MP Lara Bird, Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens, and former Labour MP Sam Tarry. The remaining members represented France, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Holland, Ireland, and the United States.

The delegates intended to join Progressive International’s Second Ramallah Congress. This gathering, organized with Birzeit University, planned meetings with Palestinian academics, students, and civil society leaders. The trip also aimed to support local farmers during the olive harvest season, a period marked by increasing friction with Israeli forces.

Clive Lewis described the detention as an interrogation. He noted that people were shouted at and questioned about their reasons for traveling and the specific narratives they planned to share. Lewis characterized the experience as deeply unpleasant. Sam Tarry said the group believed they had a genuine chance of crossing the border initially. He argued that the decision to hold them was political, driven by a desire to limit outside observation of the West Bank ahead of upcoming elections.

The detention occurred against a backdrop of heightened conflict. Israeli media reported that Defence Minister Israel Katz instructed officials to issue exclusion orders for activists visiting olive-harvesting areas. In the first two weeks of October, the UN aid coordination office recorded at least 160 Israeli settler attacks linked to the harvest. These incidents often occurred under the protection or with the participation of Israeli forces. Other recent incidents included the detention of about 80 volunteers, including US congressional candidate Brad Lander, and attacks on European diplomats and a French mayor.

Lara Bird stated that the group aimed to stand alongside Palestinians harvesting olives on their own land. She said they were turned away without a stated reason. Bird questioned why the delegation was stopped if the West Bank was open to visitors. Laila Hazaineh, a political coordinator for Progressive International, said the refusal of entry would only strengthen the group's determination to engage with Palestinian communities.

The Israeli embassy has been contacted for comment.