Exclusive: Israeli politician barred from the UK accuses government of hypocrisy over MP deportations

But he accused the British government of hypocrisy over their criticism of Israel’s decision to bar entry to Labour MPs Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang.

The pair were briefly detained at the airport before being deported back to the UK on the basis that their visit was “intended to provoke anti-Israel activities”. Mohamed and Yang insist that they were part of a parliamentary delegation and had intended to visit humanitarian projects in the West Bank.

“With all due respect to these two Members of Parliament, just because they were elected in the United Kingdom doesn’t mean they are entitled to come to Israel”, said Feiglin.

“Just the same as the United Kingdom has every right to ban me from coming to the UK. If the [Israeli] government decided that they are persona non grata, then they have a right to stop them from coming to Israel”.

He added that he “wishes the best to the country that decided that I’m a danger, but which has allowed Hezbollah terrorists in”, adding: “The result is that countries like the UK will lose their sovereignty.”

Around the time of Feiglin’s exclusion from the UK, Ibrahim Mousawi, the editor of a Hezbollah-linked journal was allowed into the country. Since then, both the political and military wings of the Lebanese group have been proscribed as terrorist organisations.

In the 1990s, Feiglin was a leader of Zu Artzeinu (This Is our Land), a direct-action movement dedicated to fighting the Oslo Accords which created the Palestinian Authority.

During his campaigning he was arrested for civil disobedience and in 1997 sentenced to six months in prison for sedition, which was later reduced to community service.

He joined Likud in 2000, becoming a frequent critic of Netanyahu from the right of the party, and has opposed any ceding of territory to the Palestinians.

As a Likud MK he caused controversy by praying on the Temple Mount and, in later years, said that Israel should build a third temple on the site.

In the 2019 Israeli elections, his Zehut party advocated in favour of an Israeli annexation of the West Bank and Gaza. As well as maximalist territorial positions, he gained fame in Israel for his advocacy in favour of legalising marijuana.

Meanwhile, in Parliament yesterday, MPs spent over an hour and 17 minutes discussing the removal of the two Labour backbenchers from Israel. Nearly double the amount of time spent discussing the possible closure of Scunthorpe steelworks earlier in the day.

Prior to the debate, around 70 Labour MPs posed for a photo in Westminster Hall in solidarity with Mohamed and Yang.

Middle East minister Hamish Falconer repeated criticism of the decision as “unacceptable and deeply concerning”.

Speaking for the opposition, Wendy Morton MP appeared to suggest that the Labour MPs had fallen foul of the Foreign Office’s own advice on entry to Israel.

She read out the official guidance which said: “The Israeli authorities decide if you can enter Israel… Some visitors may face longer searches and questioning, including those …who are considered to have publicly criticised the state of Israel”.

“Does the Minister accept that British nationals visiting Israel – a country that is at war – should be aware of those requirements and consider them carefully before making decisions to travel, and that they therefore travel to Israel at their own risk?”,  she asked before being interrupted by Labour MPs, at which point the Deputy Speaker had to intervene to restore order.

Yet Melanie Ward, a Scottish Labour MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy and former official at Medical Aid for Palestinians, implied that the detention and removal of Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang had a racial element.

She provided no evidence to back up her assertion but told MPs that the decision to detain the pair was “disgraceful, and it smacks of racism – we cannot ignore the fact that they are women of colour”.

The suggestion was not endorsed by Falconer who replied: “I have told the House the stated basis that my two honourable friends were given for their refusal, and I will not pass further comment on what might or might not be behind that”.

Luke Akehurst, Labour MP for North Durham and former director of pro-Israel group We Believe in Israel, also said it was “outrageous” that his colleagues were “detained and not allowed entry”.

He told the chamber: “For 13 years before my election, I worked as director of an organisation called We Believe in Israel … Part of my job was to lead study tours for British politicians to visit Israel – incidentally, every single trip I led also visited the west bank to hear Palestinian perspectives on the conflict.”

Despite the fact that Mohamed had called Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza “ethnic cleansing” and Yang had called for a boycott of Israeli ministers, Akehurst said that “they are moderate voices who support a two-state solution”, adding that going to Israel and the West Bank and seeing the reality on the ground “helps people to arrive at an informed, nuanced and balanced view” and adding that “that anything that hinders this is to be deplored”.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.