Greater transparency needed in Israel, says Bury St Edmunds MP
It follows MP for Bury St Edmunds being denied entry on a recent visit
Bury St Edmunds MP Dr Peter Prinsley has spoken of his shock after being denied entry to Israel while on a humanitarian visit.
Dr Prinsley, who travelled as part of a delegation organised by the Council for Arab-British Understanding, had planned to observe medical and humanitarian work carried out in the West Bank.
He and fellow MP Dr Simon Opher were stopped at the border after flying into Jordan and attempting to cross into Israel.
Dr Prinsley said immigration officials quickly realised the group was travelling under the auspices of Medical Aid for Palestinians, which led to hours of delays before he was told he would not be allowed in.
"Nobody would have thought we represented any sort of threat"
He explained: “We were asked to sit down on a bench by the desk, and about two or three hours later they came back with a document saying that we were to be denied entry.”
The MP, who is a former ear, nose and throat surgeon, described the experience as “disconcerting”, stressing the purpose of the trip was strictly medical.
“We were very definitely going to look at hospitals and clinics. This was not at all a political visit. If you took a look at the two of u, two slightly aged, grey-haired doctors, nobody would have thought we represented any sort of threat,” he said.
"The more information we can get and the more truth we can see about what’s happening"
Dr Prinsley added that blocking MPs from seeing the situation on the ground would not help efforts to build understanding.
“The more information we can get and the more truth we can see about what’s happening, the greater the chance of British doctors being able to help. Stopping us from looking at this stuff doesn’t seem to me to be helpful,” he said.
The Conservative MP also warned that future delegations should secure authorisation in advance to avoid similar problems.
“What we don’t want is people turning up at international borders simply being prevented from entering. That certainly seems to me to be one of the lessons of this whole episode,” he added.