Europeans Outraged By Israeli Visit Ban To Palestine

A European delegation responsible for the European Union (EU)'s relations with Palestinians has cancelled their scheduled visit to the Palestinian territories after Israel had blocked their visit.Manu Pineda, head of the EU delegation, said that the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not approve their visit."I regret the decision to refuse entry to Israel to Manu Pineda, the Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Palestine. I will raise the issue directly with authorities concerned," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in a statement."MEPs and the European Parliament is essential for good relations," she added.Chris MacManus, an Irish member of the European Parliament and member of the delegation, accused Israel of "direct interference with the work of the European Parliament.""It shouldn't be tolerated [...] We need to see a firm diplomatic response coming from European Union," MacManus said.Member of the Parliament of the Greens Party, Margrete Auken, termed the Israeli ban as a "big scandal."The European delegation is responsible for following the developments of the peace process in the Middle East and the EU measures to support the two-state solution.The Times of Israel newspaper cited an Israeli official as saying that Pineda was banned because he had previously met with members of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is classified by Israel as terrorist group.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar -