“This utter contempt from Israel is the result of the international community failing to hold them to account,” she said.
Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel’s office announced in a statement that Hassan would be blocked from entering Israel over her support for boycotting the country. No reason was given for denying Boylan entry.
“Hassan, who is expected to land from Brussels in the coming hour, consistently works to promote boycotts against Israel in addition to numerous public statements both on social media and in media interviews,” Arbel’s office said.
Hassan and Boylan, who were traveling to Israel to meet with Palestinian Authority officials, have called for the EU to suspend its association agreement with Israel over the war in Gaza.
Both MEPs have excoriated Israel over its actions in the besieged strip. Israel’s brutal military assault on Gaza, which followed a deadly terror attack by the armed group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, has killed at least 48,000 people, with many more missing and presumed dead.
Hassan ignited a firestorm of criticism in 2024 when she answered “true” to a question about whether Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack was legitimate, and received a police summons in April last year for “apology for an act of terrorism.”
