European Parliament Official Denied Entry to Israel

Manos Kirlis, the Communications Director for the Left Group in the European Parliament, was deported from Israel after being detained for approximately eight hours at Ben Gurion Airport. Kirlis and another woman arrived in Israel intending to participate in an anti-Israel volunteer initiative to assist Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest season in the West Bank. Their entry was denied. In an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Kirlis stated he anticipated difficulties but was shocked by the nature of the interrogation. He reported that Israeli immigration officials demonstrated a deep familiarity with his political activities. "They did not like my Irish passport, nor the fact that I had previously stayed in Bethlehem. Ultimately, they told us they knew about every protest we had participated in and every post we had ever uploaded to social media," he recounted. Kirlis mentioned that he and the other activist had proactively deleted content related to Israel from their accounts about a month before their flight in an attempt to avoid delays. Despite this, after many hours of questioning, they were definitively informed that their entry was refused. According to Kirlis, the reason given was, "Because you hate Israel." The pair were transferred to a facility for denied entry at the airport, where they discovered they were not alone. Two other Irish citizens who had also arrived to participate in the olive harvest activity were being held there and were also denied entry. "They were undoubtedly looking for us specifically," Kirlis concluded.