Prevent Ilhan and Tlaib from entering Israel. Elections are the password

Mohamed Minshawi-Washington

A few days before they arrived at Tel Aviv's David Ben-Gurion airport to start a tour organized by an institution run by Ms. Hanan Ashrawi, the former Palestinian negotiator, the Israeli occupation government prevented the two Democratic deputies in the House of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rachida Tlaib from visiting Israel and the territories under the Palestinian Authority.

The two deputies were scheduled to visit Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem and East Jerusalem, as well as the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They were not scheduled to meet with any Israeli government officials or the Palestinian Authority.

The two women MPs are the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress. They are from the Democratic Progressive Wing and both have expressed support for the boycott and divestment movement.

The initial reaction from US lawmaker Ilhan Omar to Israel's decision to ban her from the visit was considered an "insult to democratic values", and not surprising given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resistance to peace efforts.

Rachida Tlaib, in a tweet, expressed her rejection of the Israeli decision, saying that "Israel's decision to deny me entry is a sign of weakness because the reality of what is happening to the Palestinians is scary.

Israeli Ambassador to Washington Dan Dermer said last month that "the two deputies will be allowed to enter Israel out of respect for Congress and the historic alliance between our two countries."

Electoral Context
Netanyahu and Trump use the same vocabulary to win the next election, which Netanyahu will enter next month, and Trump next year.

The Israeli prime minister's decision to block the entry of the two Democrats was in line with a direct call by US President Donald Trump in a tweet in which he said Israel would show "extreme weakness" if it allowed the two deputies.

He said that Rachida Taleb and Ilhan Omar "hate Israel and all Jews, and you cannot say anything or do something to change their minds."

Netanyahu faces crucial elections in the middle of next month, after failing to form a coalition government despite his party's victory in the last parliamentary elections in April.

Netanyahu is trying to woo more right-wing voters who look with pride and appreciation to President Trump and his pro-Israel stances.

"There is no country in the world that respects the United States and the US Congress more than Israel," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. "We received the agenda of the US lawmakers' visit several days ago, and it turns out that they are planning a visit aimed solely at strengthening the boycott of Israel and rejecting its legitimacy." ".

Trump, for his part, tries to remain a strong electoral bloc of religious hardliners within the Republican Party, satisfied with his positions and policies in support of Israel, which he began to recognize Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel and move the embassy to it, and end to the ongoing attack on members of Congress who reject Israeli policies.

"Trump and Netanyahu are sacrificing strategic bilateral relations between Israel and the United States for their own political interests," thinks Tamara Wittes of the Brookings Institution.

Democratic Republican criticism
In contrast, the decision to block the two deputies was widely rejected by leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, and the largest organizations supporting Israel expressed their strong rejection of the ban.

All the Democratic candidates vying for the party's ticket for the 2020 election have refused to block the two deputies, and have appealed to Israel to reverse the decision and allow free speech and expression of various political positions.

Republican Sen. Marco Robert, a Republican from Florida, expressed 100% rejection of the positions of the two deputies, but felt it was wrong to prevent them from visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The AIPAC (the largest lobby group in the United States) expressed its refusal to prevent the entry of the two deputies, and stated - in a statement seen by Al-Jazeera Net - that "despite AIPAC's opposition to support the two deputies Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar movement boycott of Israel and their anti-Israel positions, including the invitation We reiterate the right of every member of Congress to visit our democratic ally Israel and get to know them closely. "