Скачать или смотреть Melanie Ward MP on how Israel's detention and deportation of women of colour "smacks of racism"

In a debate in the House of Commons on Israel’s refusal of entry for UK Parliamentarians Abtisam Mohamed MP and Yuan Yang MP, on 7 April 2025, Labour MP Melanie Ward asked:

“The detention and deportation of my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) and for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) by the state of Israel is disgraceful, and it smacks of racism—we cannot ignore the fact that they are women of colour. They were visiting not Israel, but the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Let us remind ourselves that the International Court of Justice recently found that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians constitutes “systemic discrimination” on the basis of

“race, religion or ethnic origin.”

The fact is that white hon. Members on recent delegations who have made similar comments about the conflict are not treated this way. Will the Minister summon the Israeli ambassador over this issue, and over what it now seems was the execution of 15 PRCS paramedics and those who went to rescue them in Gaza?"

Minister for Middle East and North Africa Hamish Falconer replied:

“I have told the House the stated basis that my two hon. Friends were given for their refusal, and I will not pass further comment on what might or might not be behind that. As I say, the written reason was the prevention of illegal immigration considerations, as unlikely as that may seem to those in this Chamber.

On the deeply concerning reports about further deaths of humanitarian workers, this Government have expressed on a number of occasions our condemnation of the lack of a deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers who conduct essential work.”