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Democratic elected officials Rashida Tlaieb and Ilhan Omar are banned from entering Israel. Their schedule stipulated their intention to travel exclusively to the Palestinian Territories. The Israeli decision was obviously influenced by a call from the US president and could have consequences for relations between Israel and the US Democratic Party.
It is the Israeli Ministry of Interior that has officially indicated that the two US parliamentarians will not be able to enter Israel. A decision that follows several days of debate on this visit of the two elected representatives of the House of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib , recalls our correspondent in Jerusalem Michel Paul .
Donald Trump's stubborn critics in Congress, known for their pro-Palestinian stances in favor of boycotting Israel, were to travel to Israel on Sunday, August 18, for a tour of the Palestinian Territories.
Israeli diplomacy had recommended allowing the visit. The flip-flop follows a call by US President Donald Trump. We are open to criticism, said Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, but not to the boycott.
" There is one thing the law does not allow us to do. We are not ready to receive in our country people who call for boycotting Israel, who are actually working to delegitimize the Jewish state, "said the head of the Israeli government.
So far, about 20 activists from the BDS boycott movement have been banned from entering Israel. But this is the first time that it is about members of the American Congress.
" That the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under the pressure of Donald Trump, refuses the entry [to Israel and the Palestinian territories] of two representatives of the American State, represents an affront, " retorted Ilhan Omar.
For its part, the pro-Israel lobby Aipac, usually close to the Trump administration, has distanced itself from this decision: " Any member of Congress should be able to visit our democratic ally Israel to discover it. nobody. "
This decision, the majority of commentators believe, will have repercussions on the relations between Israel and the American Democrats. But she can only play for Netanyahu as part of the election campaign for next month's elections .
" Unworthy behavior of a president "
Asked tonight about his intervention against Ilhan Omar and Rachida Tlaib, Donald Trump assumes. " If it was another time, or other people, they would have been condemned for their words," said the US president. They said the worst things I have ever heard about Israel. How could Israel welcome them? "
A little earlier, the US president called Benjamin Netanyahu to act adding that it would be " a sign of weakness to accept the arrival of the two elected Democrats ."
On the Democratic side, Nancy Pelosi said she regretted Israel's position. The Speaker of the House of Representatives also criticized the role played by Donald Trump, speaking of " unworthy behavior on the part of a president ".
Critics have also been heard among some elected Republicans and even within organizations and lobbies pro-Israel, who see a mistake, reports our correpsondante New York Loubna Anaki .
For some commentators, Donald Trump has just crossed a new red line. No American president had yet pushed an allied country to act against members of his own Congress.