JERUSALEM - A forthcoming trip to Israel and the
Palestinian territories by Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib,
D-Mich., will possibly be blocked by Israel in its current proposed
format, a senior Israeli government official told The Washington Post on
Thursday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the matter, the official said that if Tlaib, an American
of Palestinian heritage, made a special humanitarian request to visit
her family in the occupied West Bank, then "it would be considered
favorably."
Omar and Tlaib, who have both been outspoken critics of
Israel and support a boycott movement against the country, are slated to
arrive Sunday. Their trip is being planned by Miftah, a nonprofit
organization headed by Palestinian lawmaker and longtime peace
negotiator Hanan Ashrawi.
Denying entry for Omar and Tlaib would likely deepen the
divide between the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
Democrats, who have privately said such moves are not emblematic of a
country that prides itself as a democracy tolerant of political
expression.
Informed Wednesday that Israel would formally deny entry
for Omar and Tlaib, Democrats in Congress quietly braced for a new
public fight with the long-serving Israeli leader, said several
congressional aides familiar with the discussions.
It is still unclear whether Netanyahu will follow through
on that decision, however, after a private backlash from the Democratic
leadership and some U.S.-based pro-Israel groups, who warned against
barring sitting members of Congress from entering Israel because of
their political beliefs, said the aides, who spoke on condition of
anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
With three weeks to go before a repeat election on
Sept.17,Netanyahu is fighting a bitter battle to stay in office and
needs to appear strong to his fractured right-wing support base.
Barring entry for Omar and Tlaib, however, would amount
to an about-face for Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, who said last month
that Israel would not deny entry to any U.S. lawmakers "out of respect
for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and
America."
The question about their entry status arose because of
Omar and Tlaib's upcoming visit to Israel and the West Bank slated for
Sunday and a recently passed Israeli law that denies entry visas to
foreign nationals who publicly back or call for any kind of boycott -
economic, cultural or academic - against Israel or its West Bank
settlements.
The goal of the measure is to battle the boycott,
divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which protests Israeli
treatment of the Palestinians and has found growing support in Europe
and the United States in recent years.
President Donald Trump, who maintains a close
relationship with Netanyahu, was reportedly disappointed in Israel's
announcement that it would permit Tlaib and Omar to visit. Trump has
said the lawmakers should "go back" to the countries they came from in
remarks widely condemned as racist. Tlaib was born in Michigan and Omar
was born in Somalia. Both have loudly criticized Israel's human rights
record and treatment of Palestinians.
Neither of their offices responded to requests for comment.
Democrats, lead by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,
pressed Israeli officials Wednesday to reconsider their decision to
block Omar and Tlaib, but congressional aides said it remained unclear
if Israel had changed its decision.
Hoyer, who just returned from a trip to Israel sponsored
by the powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC, was seen as an
obvious point person for the dispute given his close relationship with
the Israeli government.
Most Democrats in Congress are far more reluctant to
criticize Israel than Tlaib or Omar, and many have spoken out against
their remarks criticizing Israel's policies and influence on Capitol
Hill. But congressional aides said many in the party would forcefully
oppose an Israeli decision to block two women of color from traveling to
the country.
It's unclear what might have changed the Israeli position
from last week, when Axios reported that an interagency meeting was
held in which all government agencies agreed the visit should be allowed
in order to avoid damaging the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Anticipation for the visit has generated significant
media attention in Israel. This week, Knesset member and former
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said he would be willing to meet the freshman
lawmakers but not if "they come with their opinion and create
propaganda or make havoc in our country."
A person involved with the trip who was not authorized to
talk to the media said the congresswomen are hoping to arrive in the
region Sunday, depending on Israel's final decision.
The private trip is slated to run from Aug. 18-22. Tlaib
is hoping to stay some extra days to see her grandmother, who lives in a
West Bank village. No official meetings are scheduled for the U.S.
lawmakers, but they are planning to travel to the Palestinian cities of
Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah, and spend time in Jerusalem.
During their stay, they are scheduled to meet with
Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups, humanitarian workers,
young people and see one of the East Jerusalem hospitals affected by
recent cuts in American aid to the Palestinians.
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The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker contributed to this report.
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