EU parliamentarian demands action after being refused entry to Israel for official visit

Lynn Boylan, an Irish member of the European Parliament, has demanded action from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola after she was refused entry, along with fellow lawmaker Rima Hassan, to Israel and Palestine for an official mission last month.

Speaking during during a European Parliament session on Monday, Boylan said Israeli authorities confiscated the phones of the two MEPs as well as two other European Parliament officials when their flight landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on 24 February.

Boylan, who is the chair of the EU delegation on relations with Palestine, said she was travelling on an Irish diplomatic passport on the visit.

"While detained by the Israeli authorities, our electronic devices were confiscated for over ninety minutes. Our passports, including an Irish diplomatic passport were confiscated and not returned to us until we arrived back in Brussels," Boylan said.

The delegation had intended to travel to Palestine and spend a number of days there following their work in Israel.

Today I raised the fact that Israel prevented the EU Parliaments official mission to Palestine from taking place and confiscated the phones of 2 MEPs and 2 officials for 90 mins. pic.twitter.com/il3z2DBoLS

— Lynn Boylan 🍷📖🐾 (@LNBDublin) March 10, 2025

The delegation holds regular meetings with Palestinian and international groups on EU-Palestinian relations and on political, economic and social and human rights developments in Palestine.