By Itzhak Rabihiya Democratic lawmakers will be turned back due to ‘suspected provocations and promotion of BDS,’ unconfirmed TV report says Israel has decided to bar US congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country, following fierce debates on the matter in the Prime Minister’s Office, Channel 12 reported on Thursday. The unconfirmed report, which did not cite a source, said the final decision was being drafted and passed around for revisions before the move is publicly announced. 
The reason cited for the move is reportedly “suspected provocations and promotion of BDS,” a reference to the anti-Israel boycott movement. Meanwhile an unnamed government official told AFP that was “a possibility that Israel will not allow the visit in its current proposed format.” The official said “Professional teams and legal counsel in various government ministries are continuing to examine the decision. According to Israeli law, the authority lies with the minister of the interior.” The official, however, added that “if Congresswoman Tlaib makes a humanitarian request to visit her family, the decision on her matter will be considered favourably.” The planned visit of the two controversial freshman lawmakers has made headlines in recent days after it was reported that US President Donald Trump was disappointed by Israel’s decision not to bar them from coming. Israel’s laws allow border authorities to turn away supporters of the anti-Israel boycott movement. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the matter with Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, according to a diplomatic official. “The possibility exists that Israel will not allow the visit as currently planned,” said the official earlier on Thursday, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity. “The professional and legal teams in the Prime Minister’s Office are still studying the material.” The final say lies with the interior minister, the official added. Deri has in the past taken a hardline position on letting backers of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement into the country, citing a law that allows Israel to bar BDS activists from entering. Until Thursday morning, it was generally presumed that Israel would not hinder the two congresswomen from visiting out of respect to the US. Soon after the diplomatic official said that Israel may yet prevent Omar and Tlaib from entering the country, other officials said the government was considering allowing them in but restricting their movement to the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, Channel 13 reported. If Tlaib wished to visit her grandmother, who lives in the West Bank village of Beit Ur al-Foqa, Israel would consider her request on humanitarian grounds, officials told the network. 
Last month Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said that she would visit Israel and the West Bank with Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman from Michigan. The two are the first female Muslim congresswomen. Last Saturday, Axios reported that Trump had criticized the Israeli decision to allow Omar and Tlaib to visit the country. Trump said that if Omar and Tlaib wanted to boycott Israel, “then Israel should boycott them,” the report said, quoting a source with direct knowledge. However, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham denied that Trump — who recently singled out Omar, Tlaib and two of their colleagues for several harsh rebukes — had ever given any kind of directive to the Israelis. “The Israeli government can do what they want. It’s fake news,” Grisham told Axios. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Thursday, 15 August 2019) said: "No country in the world respects America and the American Congress more than the State of Israel. As a free and vibrant democracy, Israel is open to critics and criticism, with one exception: Israeli law prohibits the entry into Israel of those who call for and work to impose boycotts on Israel, as do other democracies that prohibit the entry of people who seek to harm the country. In fact, in the past the US did this to an Israeli member of Knesset, as well as to other public figures from around the world.  Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting the legislation of boycotts against Israel in the American Congress. Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy. For instance: they listed the destination of their trip as Palestine and not Israel, and unlike all Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have visited Israel, they did not request to meet any Israeli officials, either from the government or the opposition. A week ago, Israel warmly welcomed some 70 Democratic and Republican members of Congress, who expressed broad bipartisan support for Israel, which was also demonstrated a month ago in a resounding bipartisan vote against BDS in Congress. However, the itinerary of the two Congresswomen reveals that the sole purpose of their visit is to harm Israel and increase incitement against it. In addition, the organization that is funding their trip is Miftah, which is an avid supporter of BDS, and among whose members are those who have expressed support for terrorism against Israel. Therefore, the Minister of Interior has decided not to allow their visit, and I, as Prime Minister, support his decision. Nonetheless, if Congresswoman Tlaib submits a humanitarian request to visit her relatives, the minister of interior has announced that he will consider her request on the condition that she pledges not to act to promote boycotts against Israel during her visit." | 
