SINN FÉIN has condemned an incident in which Derry politician Martina Anderson was held for two hours by Israeli authorities.
Sinn Féin MEP, Martina Anderson, has now been informed by Israeli authorities that the European Delegation which she has led to Jerusalem, with the hope of visiting Gaza, will once again be denied access.
Ms Anderson also led GUE/NGL group delegation to Palestine in September 2014 that were also not permitted access to Gaza.
Speaking from East Jerusalem this morning, she told Derry Daily: “I vehemently condemn the Israeli authorities decision to deny this delegation access to Gaza for the second time. For me personally, this my third attempt.”
“It is unacceptable that an official EU delegation to Palestine are refused entry to inspect the humanitarian situation and the destruction in Gaza given that the EU is largest donor of finance to Palestinians. This has to stop!
“Despite stating clearly that the remit of this delegation was to identify areas in dire need of vital public services such as schools, health centres and food distribution centres, with a purely social, economic and humanitarian focus, we continue to be blocked.
“These blatant attempts to deter us from our mission will bear little fruit, we will take this opportunity to visit East Jerusalem which has been experiencing a lot of tension over the last year particularly over illegal settlements, house demolitions and access to the Al Aqsa compound. As well as meeting with UNRWA representatives.
“I have also secured a crucially important meeting with the Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. who will brief us about the way forward and the role of the international community.”
She added: “The Israeli Government continue to oppress the Palestinian people by attacking them in the economic, cultural and political sphere’s, yet we remain resolute in our will to bring this to the attention of the rest of the world, which is precisely, why MEPs are being denied the opportunity to witness for themselves the genocide that was committed in Gaza.”
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