Israel has decided to block a visit by United States Democrat members of Congress Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely has said.
“The decision has been made, the decision is not to allow them to enter,” Hotovely told Israel’s Reshet Radio on Thursday, shortly after US President Donald Trump warned Tel Aviv against allowing the two Muslim members of his country’s Congress to visit.
“It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep Omar and Rep Tlaib to visit,” Trump said in a tweet on Thursday.
“They hate Israel and all Jewish people, and there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds,” he added.
Trump tweeted on Sunday that four congresswomen of colour who have been critical of his harsh immigration policies should just “go back” to where they came from
The US president last month had again targeted Omar, Tlaib and two other Democratic congresswomen of colour with racist attacks, saying the four politicians should “go back” to where they came from.
Tlaib, 43, who was born in the United States, draws her roots to the Palestinian village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa in the occupied West Bank. Her grandmother and extended family live in the village.
Omar, 37, who immigrated to the US from Somalia as a child, represents Minnesota’s fifth congressional district.
The two Democrats planned to tour the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. No date was formally announced for their trip but reports suggest they planned to visit this weekend.
It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019
Tlaib and Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress and members of the Democratic party’s progressive wing, have voiced support for the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel’s Channel 12 television said a decision to ban their entry had been made and that it would be announced after a review by government legal experts.
Entry consultations
Under Israeli law, backers of the BDS movement can be denied entry to Israel. But Israel’s ambassador in the US, Ron Dermer, said last month Tlaib and Omar would be let in, out of respect for the US Congress and the US-Israeli relationship.
An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior members of his cabinet held consultations on Wednesday on a “final decision” about the visit.
Speaking from West Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcet said that US pressure may have influenced Israel’s decision to block the two congressmen from entering the country.
“We had this Trump tweet come out well in advance of the official statement from the deputy Israeli FM.
“It is pretty clear that there has been a good deal of US pressure. Either Trump was trying to increase that pressure with this tweet or he already knew that the decision has been made in favour of what he was advocating,” said Fawcett.
Denying entry to elected US officials could further strain relations between Netanyahu, who has highlighted his close ties with Trump in his current re-election campaign, and the Democratic leadership in Congress.
Political commentators said a reversal of Israel’s original intention to approve the legislators’ entry likely stemmed from a desire to mirror Trump’s hard line against them.
“Netanyahu has an election coming up. Presumably it does him good on the Israeli right to make this decision,” said Fawcett. “It’s [the decision] being reported here [Israel] very much as a gift from Netanyahu to Trump.”
Holy-site visit
The holy compound in Jerusalem that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque is revered by Jews and Muslims alike.
The flashpoint site is in an area of Jerusalem that Israel captured along with the West Bank in the 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognised internationally.
Violence erupted there on Sunday between Israeli police and Palestinians amid tensions over visits by Jewish pilgrims on a day when the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha and the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av overlapped.
