‘Detaining MPs shows Israel is no ally to Britain. Labour must change tack’

Israel could not have made it any clearer over the past month: it is no ally to the United Kingdom and no ally to the Labour Party.

Early on Sunday morning, news broke that two Labour MPs had been detained by Israeli officials and refused entry to the occupied West Bank. The treatment of Abtisam Mohamed MP and Yuan Yang MP—shameful, unprecedented, and politically charged—should shatter any notion left in the Labour Party that Israel is an ally to our country or party.

Abtisam and Yuan, two well respected British Labour MPs, were representatives of Britain on an MPs delegation to visit humanitarian aid projects, and yet they were interrogated for hours, falsely accused, and then deported. This wasn’t a security decision. It was a political message: criticism of Israel and championing international humanitarian law will not be tolerated—even if you’re an elected official.

And this is not the first time Britain’s representatives have been politically targeted.

‘This is the kind of story Israel does not want told’

Just last month, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee Emily Thornberry furiously slammed Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharran Haskal for secretly filming a meeting between them at the Knesset and later posting it on Instagram. Thornberry denounced the action as “unacceptable” and also accused Knesset members as being “remarkably rude” to the UK delegation.

Uma Kumaran MP, another member of the foreign affairs select committee, recounted her frightening experience in the occupied West Bank. Discussing her time in Area C, a region of the occupied territories that is under the full control of the Israeli military, she recalled the “stark” conditions for the local community.

“Their access to electricity is limited, their access to water is hampered. There is a stream within touching distance and they are unable to use that stream, in fact there is a sign erected above the stream with a Star of David that makes it clear they are unable to touch or even drink that water.”

She goes on to recall a terrifying and shocking experience with armed Israeli settlers. Despite Ms Kumaran and her colleagues being on an official delegation with full diplomatic protection, they “had guns pointed in our faces, we were still terrified and our drivers would still not take us any further into Area C for fear of what would happen to us.”

This is the kind of story Israel does not want told.

‘Israel does not want witnesses’

Israel does not want witnesses. Because with witnesses come accounts of unimaginable crimes like the ones committed on medical and rescue workers last month. On March 23, 2025, five ambulances, a fire truck, and a UN vehicle were struck “one by one” in al-Hashashin as Israeli forces opened fire on medical and rescue workers. Eight Palestinian medics were killed by Israeli forces along with six civil defence first responders and a UN member of staff.

New footage published this weekend has shown that, before coming under fire, the convoy of ambulances and a fire truck were clearly marked, with headlights and emergency flashing lights switched on. The mobile phone footage obtained from the phone of a paramedic who was killed and later found in a mass grave was released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

For more from LabourList, subscribe to our daily newsletter roundup of all things Labour – and follow us on  Bluesky, WhatsApp, Threads, X or Facebook .

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had denied that the vehicles had their headlights or emergency signals on at the time of the attack. This has now been definitively proven to be false. The Red Cross movement has expressed public outrage in this latest breach of international humanitarian law.

It is important to remember, under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), ambulances and medical personnel are protected, and attacks against them are prohibited.

‘They should never be punished for speaking the truth’

For over a year Israel has denied journalists access to Gaza to tell stories like these. They do not want witnesses to the kind of reality facing the civilian populations – both in the West Bank and Gaza. But now they have gone further by brazenly denying access to Parliamentarians.

It should be universally accepted in Westminster that no matter the colour of your rosette on election day, when an MP travels abroad they are a representative of our country and should be treated as such. MPs should have full access to see first hand the reality of the situation on the ground, and form their own views and positions on the future of British policy.

They should never be punished for speaking the truth and championing international law in our Parliament. If they are, it should be met with a furious response by our government and foreign office.

Over 50,000 people have now been killed in Gaza, 15,000 of which are children. Hospitals, schools and UN facilities have been regularly destroyed. Aid workers, medical personnel and journalists murdered. The moral point of no return was passed a long, long time ago.

But we know how often our politics is detached from morality. So perhaps now that Britain, its Parliament, and the Labour Party have been humiliated by Israel, maybe, just maybe, this can be a political point of no return. A moment for the last few people left in Westminster and our Party to see that Israel is no ally and we must change our tack now.

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
• DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
• ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].