The delegation was sent to review the situation in the occupied territories after the murder of Shireen Abu Aqla by Israeli troops. On 22 May, an EU delegation cancelled a scheduled trip to the occupied Palestinian territories after Manu Pineda, a member of the European Parliament and head of its Palestine delegation, was barred from entering Israel.
“Israel is blocking the work of the European Parliament,” Pineda said, adding that the delegation was also barred from entering the Gaza Strip.
The delegation was sent to assess the situation on the ground following the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqla, who was deliberately targeted and shot dead by Israeli forces as she was covering an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.
According to a statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Pineda was denied entry due to “information received from the competent authorities in Israel.”
Mañana debería comenzar una misión del @Europarl_EN de #Palestina.
— Manu Pineda🔻🇵🇸💔🏴 (@ManuPineda) May 22, 2022
Sin embargo, Israel prohíbe mi entrada como presidente de la Delegación.
La misión ha sido cancelada. pic.twitter.com/5rjaKxKaBQ
Grace O’Sullivan, a member of the delegation, referred to the decision as an “unprecedented move,” and called for a firm response from the President of the EU Parliament.
“I regret the decision to refuse entry into Israel to Manu Pineda, the Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Palestine. I will raise the issue directly with authorities concerned. Respect for MEPs and the European Parliament is essential for good relations,” the President of the European parliament, Roberta Metsola, said via Twitter.
I regret the decision to refuse entry to Israel to @ManuPineda, the Chair of the @Europarl_EN Delegation for relations with Palestine.
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) May 22, 2022
I will raise the issue directly with authorities concerned.
Respect for MEPs and the European Parliament is essential for good relations.
Israel’s decision to block the entry of the EU delegation comes just days after a report by Israeli media outlet Haaretz revealed that the occupation army has no plans to investigate the murder of Abu Aqla.
According to the report, occupation authorities believe that questioning Israeli forces will cause controversy in the army and society.
The Israeli army neither confirmed nor denied their decision not to investigate when pressed by the Spanish news agency EFE.
A few days prior, Israeli troops brutally attacked the funeral procession of Abu Aqla, despite the fact that the army’s preliminary analysis determined Abu Aqla “could have been” killed by Israeli fire.