Israel denies entry to two EU lawmakers, accusing one of supporting boycotts
Israel barred two MEPs from entering the country on Monday, accusing one of them of advocating boycotts against Israel.
Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin-The Left), head of the European Parliament's EU-Palestine delegation, and Rima Hassan (La France Insoumise-The Left) were stopped at Ben-Gurion Airport and sent back to Europe.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel justified the decision by claiming that French politician Hassan had 'consistently worked to promote boycotts against Israel in addition to numerous public statements both on social media and in media interviews'.
No specific reason was provided for Boylan's expulsion.
Boylan stated she had planned to meet Palestinian Authority officials, civil society representatives, and residents living under Israeli occupation. She condemned the refusal to admit her to the country.
'This utter contempt from Israel is the result of the international community failing to hold them to account,' Boylan said. 'Israel is a rogue state, and this disgraceful move shows the level of utter disregard that they have for international law."
"Europe must now hold Israel to account."
Last Friday, The Left group called for the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, citing the International Court of Justice's investigation into crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
New law imposes travel bans
The MEPs' expulsion follows recently passed Israeli legislation that prohibits entry for individuals who have denied Hamas' attack on 7 October 2023 or supported international prosecution of Israeli soldiers.
The law, which applies to non-citizens and non-residents, builds on existing legislation that prohibits entry to individuals advocating boycotts against Israel. It also applies to those who deny the Holocaust.
Critics in Israel and abroad say the original law was designed to suppress dissent. It has previously been used to refuse entry to activists supporting the Palestinian-led movement known as Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, or BDS.
While BDS supporters compare their campaign to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, Israel claims the movement seeks to undermine its legitimacy as a state and that some of its leaders are antisemitic — an accusation BDS organisers deny.
Hassan urged demonstrators to rally outside the European Union headquarters, where a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council took place on Monday.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was on a diplomatic visit to Brussels for the EU-Israel Association Council. The council does not meet frequently, and Monday's meeting was called amid pressure from Spain and Ireland to suspend the forum over Israel's actions in Gaza. Saar met with several European leaders in Brussels.
Speaking earlier on Monday, Saar defended Israel's stance on criticism from European leaders.
'It's OK as long as the criticism is not connected to the delegitimisation, demonisation or double standards, which from time to time are things we see in the attacks against Israel,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
EU targets US 'Big Beautiful Bill' over tax provision in tariff talks
The EU is wrangling over a provision of Donald Trump's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" for the US budget that could see European companies taxed higher than others in retaliation for certain taxes imposed on US enterprises overseas, the vice-chair of the European Parliament's tax subcommittee has told Euronews. The German European People's Party MEP Markus Ferber said the European Commission has raised the proposed legislation—already approved by the House of Representatives—in ongoing tariff negotiations with the Trump administration. 'We are concerned because within this 'One Big Beautiful Bill' there are special taxes aimed at jurisdictions that impose taxes on the US,' Ferber told Euronews. He added that jurisdictions like the EU, which have already implemented the OECD agreement establishing a global minimum tax of 15% on multinationals, are directly targeted. 'It could also affect member states that have introduced a digital services tax,' he noted. The OECD agreement, approved by 140 countries - though as yet unratified by the US - introduced a global minimum tax of 15% on the profits of multinational companies, regardless of where those profits are declared, with effect from 1 January 2024. The EU has transposed the agreement into law and applies it to multinationals operating within the Union, to the ire of the Trump administration. Meanwhile countries such as Denmark, Portugal and Poland have implemented digital services taxes targeting US tech giants, while others are in the process of creating one. The US is now looking to retaliate against taxes it deems unfair through a provision of the "Big Beautiful Bill' which would hit foreign investors with a bump in US income tax by five percent points each year, potentially taking the rate up to 20%, in addition to existing taxes. The Commission is concerned, officials said. According to Ferber, the EU executive has put this provision of the US budget bill on the negotiating table. 'But we are not sure yet that the US agreed to put it in the basket,' the MEP said. For several weeks, the EU and the US have been discussing a resolution to the trade dispute that has been ongoing since mid-March. The US impose 50% tariffs on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on cars and 10% on all EU imports. For its part, the EU has prepared countermeasures targeting around €115 billion worth of US products. These measures are either suspended until July or still awaiting approval by EU member states.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Netanyahu survives opposition bid to dissolve parliament
Out of the Knesset's 120 members, 61 voted against the proposal, with 53 in favour. The opposition had introduced the bill hoping to force elections with the help of ultra-Orthodox parties in the governing coalition angry at Netanyahu over the contentious issue of exemptions from military service for their community. While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and leftist groups, ultra-Orthodox parties that are propping up Netanyahu's government had earlier threatened to back the motion. The results of the vote Thursday morning, however, showed that most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers ultimately did not back the opposition bill, with just a small number voting in favour. The opposition will now have to wait six months before it can try again. Before the vote, Yuli Edelstein, a lawmaker from Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, announced that after lengthy discussions, parties had agreed on the "principles on which the draft conscription law will be based". Edelstein, who chairs the foreign affairs and defence committee, did not specify the terms of the agreement. "As I said all along -- only a real, effective bill that leads to an expansion of the (Israeli military's) recruitment base will emerge from the committee I chair," he wrote on social media platform X. "This is historic news, and we are on the path to real reform in Israeli society and strengthening the security of the State of Israel." Edelstein had earlier put forward a bill aimed at increasing the number of ultra-Orthodox conscripted, and tightening the penalties for those who refuse to serve. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, meanwhile, said the government was seeing the beginning of the end. "When coalitions begin to fall apart, they fall apart. It started and this is what it looks like when a government begins to collapse," he said. Ultra-Orthodox parties had been given a choice between losing a law on their exemption from military service, or losing their place in the government, and they chose exemption, Lapid added. "The government helped them... organise the exemption of tens of thousands of healthy young people," he said, referring to ultra-Orthodox Israelis. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi hit back, saying the coalition government was "moving forward" and "stronger than ever". Earlier on Wednesday, opposition leaders had said their decision to bring the dissolution bill to the Knesset for a vote was "made unanimously and is binding on all factions". They said that all opposition parties would freeze their lawmaking activities to focus on "the overthrow of the government". Netanyahu's coalition is one of the most right-wing in the country's history. It includes two ultra-Orthodox parties -- Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ). The two parties had threatened to back the motion for early elections. 'Existential danger' Military service is mandatory in Israel but, under a ruling that dates back to the country's creation when the ultra-Orthodox were a very small community, men who devote themselves full-time to the study of Jewish scripture are given a de facto pass. Whether that should change has been a long-running issue. Efforts to scrap the exemption have intensified during the nearly 20-month war in Gaza as the military looks for extra manpower. Netanyahu is under pressure from his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men -- a red line for parties such as Shas, who demand a law guaranteeing their constituents permanent exemption from military service. Ahead of the vote in the early hours of Thursday morning, Israeli media reported that officials from Netanyahu's coalition were holding talks with ultra-Orthodox leaders hoping to find common ground. In an apparent bid to allow time for those negotiations, Netanyahu's coalition filled the Knesset's agenda with bills to delay the vote. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that bringing down the government during wartime would pose "an existential danger" to Israel's future. "History will not forgive anyone who drags the state of Israel into elections during a war," Smotrich told parliament, adding that there was a "national and security need" for ultra-Orthodox to fight in the military. Netanyahu's government is a coalition between his Likud party, far-right groups and ultra-Orthodox parties, whose departure would leave it without a parliamentary majority.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says 5 members killed in Hamas attack
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near Khan Yunis in the south was "brutally attacked by Hamas" around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT). "We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage," GHF said in a statement. In an email to AFP, the group added that all five of the people killed were Palestinian aid workers for GHF. "These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others," the group said in its statement condemning the attack. The distribution of food and basic supplies in the besieged Gaza Strip has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory's deep hunger crisis. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence. It said Israeli forces killed 31 people waiting for aid on Wednesday. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment about the incident. 'Died while waiting' The GHF, an officially private effort with opaque funding, began operating on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking international outcry and warnings of imminent famine. During its first week of operations, the GHF said it distributed more than seven million meals' worth of food, but its operations were heavily criticised even before the string of deadly incidents near its sites. The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. The amount of aid being allowed back into the territory meanwhile has been described as only a trickle. Gaza's medics have said hospitals were being inundated with people attacked while trying to obtain food. Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat Camp said early Thursday that four people were killed and 100 wounded in an overnight Israeli drone attack on a gathering at an aid distribution site close to a key checkpoint along the road to northern Gaza. At Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, the emergency room said it had started receiving dozens of victims who had been waiting for aid, including 200 in a single day. "Many Gazans went to the Nabulsi and Netzarim areas to receive aid and were shot at and shelled with tanks," said Mutaz Harara, head of Al-Shifa's emergency department. But with few medical supplies and no operating rooms, "many patients died while waiting for their turn", he said. Convoys through Egypt? To combat the widespread shortages, two activist convoys are attempting to transport supplies to the Gaza border themselves. The Soumoud convoy -- meaning steadfastness in Arabic -- left Tunis in buses and cars on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt. The Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organising a separate mobilisation starting in Cairo on Friday. The plan entails participants marching through the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula on foot, and camping on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. Israel's defence minister objected to the mobilisation, and said he expects Egyptian authorities "to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border". Such actions "would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed," Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. Egypt said that while it backs efforts to put "pressure on Israel" to lift its blockade on Gaza, any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval. With international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government mounting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu survived the latest challenge to his right-wing coalition early Thursday. A bill to dissolve parliament -- which could have led to snap polls -- was narrowly defeated, with 61 members of the Knesset voting against it, and 53 in favour. The opposition had hoped to leverage dissatisfaction with Netanyahu over proposals to enlist ultra-Orthodox men typically exempt from the military draft. But ultimately, the ultra-Orthodox parties did not back the effort. The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulting in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
