The key facts
- A Progressive International delegation of 23 people, including MPs from the UK, Spain and representatives of six other countries, was detained for eight hours at the Allenby/King Hussein crossing and denied entry to the West Bank
- The Israeli army announced the closure of all crossings to the West Bank for the day of the national elections
- According to the UN, at least 160 settler attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters were recorded in the first two weeks of October
Detention at the Allenby crossing
An international delegation of 23 people organised by Progressive Internationalwas detained by Israeli authorities for eight hours and denied entry to the West Bank as it attempted to cross into the territory via the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge from Jordan. The delegation members themselves reported this. The group included Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Lara Bird, Labour MP Clive Lewis, Scottish Greens Member of the Scottish Parliament Kate Nevens, former Labour MP Sam Tarry, as well as EH Bildu representative in the Spanish Senate Josu Estarrona Elizondo. The remaining participants came from France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands and the United States.
What the participants say
Lara Bird wrote that the group was 'questioned and ultimately not allowed through the border', and that the Israeli military gave no reason for the ban: 'I came to stand alongside Palestinians who are being attacked for harvesting olives on their own land. Instead, we were turned away without any explanation.' Clive Lewis said he was held for more than eight hours and questioned, and that the group was 'made to feel as if it had done something wrong', even though, in his words, the participants 'had done nothing wrong'. Kate Nevens described what happened as 'frightening', but noted that the group was able to 'leave safely', adding that what they experienced was only a small part of what Palestinians face at the same border.
Context: elections and violence during the olive harvest
The delegation had come to support Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest and planned to meet students of Birzeit University in Ramallah and civil society leaders. It was denied entry against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation: according to UN figures cited by The National, at least 160 attacks by settlers on Palestinian olive harvesters were recorded in the first two weeks of October. Earlier this month, European diplomats and a French mayor were attacked in the West Bank, and among those detained last week for supporting farmers was New York Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander. According to Israeli media reports cited by The National, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz instructed officials to apply restraining orders against activists coming to support the olive harvest.
Crossing closures and events in Hebron
The incident coincided with heightened security measures in Israel: on Monday, the Israeli army announced the closure of all land crossings to the West Bank for the day of the national elections on Tuesday — the first elections since the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. According to the BBC, in recent days around 2,000 Palestinian residents were displaced in Hebron in the southern West Bank — a response to the killing of two Israeli soldiers by Palestinian militants; footage published online, the BBC reported, showed a street completely razed by bulldozers. The BBC also notes several other reports of attacks on Palestinians during the olive harvest in the run-up to the elections. The Israeli embassy and the UK Foreign Office did not respond to a BBC request for comment at the time of publication.
Image source, BBC/PA Media Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens, SNP MP Lara Bird and Labour MP Clive Lewis said they were detained by Israeli authorities for eight hours
