Israel denied entry to two Swedish members of the European Parliament who had planned to travel to the occupied West Bank, turning them away at Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli authorities said Monday.
Jonas Sjostedt and Hanna Gedin, members of Sweden's Left Party, were turned away Sunday at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, the primary gateway for visitors to the Palestinian territory.
Israel's foreign ministry said the pair had "consistently acted against Israel," including by calling for international legal proceedings against Israelis.
"On various public occasions, they have spread false accusations against Israel, including allegations of genocide, deliberate starvation and the intentional targeting of children and medical personnel," the ministry said in a statement. Israel consistently denies committing acts of war crimes, genocide and occupation of Palestine, despite clear evidence proving it, including ministers openly calling for the extermination of Palestinians.
Sjostedt in a Facebook post said that the two MEPs planned to meet human rights and charitable organizations, including Save the Children, and to see refugee camps.
"We continue to work against Israel's illegal occupation, the displacement of Palestinians, and genocide," Sjostedt wrote.
He added that Sweden had issued a protest.
But Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, while noting the Swedish embassy assisted the pair, said that every country "has its own entry regulations" and that Sweden has a travel advisory in place for Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Rawhi Fattouh, president of the Palestinian National Council, the West Bank-based legislative body, called on European parliaments to speak out against the exclusion of critical voices.
The denial of entry is "an attempt to impose silence by force and turn criticism of the occupation into an accusation, in clear disregard for international law and the moral immunity afforded to parliamentary work", he said.
