cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27834914
April 5 (Reuters) - Israel has detained two British members of parliament and refused entry to the officials who were visiting as part of a parliamentary delegation, British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement late on Saturday.
Sky News, citing a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry, says that the detained parliamentarians are Labour MPs Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, who were rejected because they were suspected of plans to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred.”
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British Parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support,” Lammy said.
It still is perceived as such. Actions like these erode relationships and shift perspectives. But before you take countermeasures it is good to think about cui bono.
As an example: the EU member country Hungary is currently plagued by an autocratic leader named Orban. This man is openly hostile to the EU and provocations are his daily business. The EU could a) play hardball and retaliate, which would have grave consequences for the people of that country and give Orban an opportunity to spin this in his favour. Or b) Play nice (within limits) thus having a greater chance for the people of this country to realize in the upcoming elections in Hungary there is a better choice than Orban.
I don’t think there’s any trend of Hungarians turning on Orban, and given the harm he does to the EU as a whole they frankly should play hardball.
There is a chance he might loose the 2026 elections, unless he turns fully autocratic.