WEST BANK (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime has banned a European Parliament delegation from entering the occupied territories to review the situation on the ground.
Manuel Pineda, a Spanish politician from the United Left coalition and also the head of the delegation for EU-Palestine relations, in a Twitter post announced that he had canceled the mission he was going to lead on Monday to assess the current situation of the Palestinians.
He also shared the rejection statement delivered by the occupying regime’s foreign ministry.
According to “the information received from the authorities in Israel,” the ministry has decided “not to approve the arrival” of Pineda in the occupied territories, said the statement, without giving reasons.
Pineda accused the occupying regime of “blocking the work of the European Parliament.”
“The mission was planned to meet with the Palestinian authorities and civil society, to see the consequences of the occupation on the daily life of the Palestinian population in the territory, as well as to see the effects of the policies of EU cooperation,” Pineda said.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also regretted the decision to refuse entry to Pineda to the occupied territories.
“I will raise the issue directly with authorities concerned. Respect for MEPs and the European Parliament is essential for good relations,” Metsola said on Twitter.
O’Sullivan said the six-member delegation was going to visit Palestinians working “in the most difficult circumstances, especially in light of the recent killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh”.
Abu Akleh, a veteran of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network’s Arabic service, was shot in the head earlier this month when she was reporting on a Zionist raid against Palestinians living in the Jenin refugee camp. Her tragic death sent shockwaves across the globe, drawing global condemnation against the occupying regime.
In 2016, a working group of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Palestine was denied entry to Gaza. No justification was given by the rgeime authorities for the decision back then.
Since June 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under a tight Zionist-Egyptian siege, which has caused a sharp decline in living standards, including unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty, in the besieged enclave.