British MP urges government to expel far-right Israeli MK

London (QNN)- The former head of the UK parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Crispin Blunt, has urged the government to expel far-right Israeli MK Bezalel Smotrich from the country.

In a letter addressed to the Home Secretary on behalf of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, the British Conservative Party politician called for Smotrich to have his entry clearance revoked, saying his presence was “non-conducive to the public good,” Middle East Eye (MEE) reported on Thursday.

Blunt cited new immigration rules introduced in December 2020 which “tightened” the process for assessing applications, the guidance suggesting someone could prevent entry “based on their character, conduct, or associations because they pose a threat to UK society”.

“In the event that he intends to enter, or has entered the UK, we ask you to directly prevent his entry, or revoke his entry clearance on the basis that his presence is non-conducive to the public good,” read Blunt’s letter.

A Home Office spokesperson said they did not routinely comment on individual cases and didn’t say if they were considering expelling Smotrich, but told MEE that “hateful extremism has no place in our society”.

“We are working closely with law enforcement, local communities and our international partners to tackle groups and individuals who sow division and hatred,” they said.

Smotrich arrived the UK on Wednesday and he is currently on a tour of the United Kingdom and France to rally opposition to the Israeli government’s plans to reform conversion to Judaism, citing assimilation concerns.

This started with the Board of Deputies (BoD), the community’s mainstream umbrella organization, telling the far-right Israeli MK that he is not welcome in the UK, and urged British Jews to “show him the door”.

“We reject his abominable views and the hatred ideology of Bezalel Smotrich and call on all members of the British Jewish community to show him the door,” the top UK Jewish body tweeted in Hebrew on Wednesday in an unprecedented intervention.

“Get back on the plane Bezalel and be remembered as a disgrace forever,” it added while tagging a number of prominent Israeli media outlets and journalists in a subsequent tweet.

In response, Smotrich tweeted: “British Jews: I love you. All of you.”

Bezalel Smotrich, who belongs to the controversial Religious Zionist Party, is a political ally of former Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

He is a notorious racist, homophobe and Jewish ultra-nationalist.

Smotrich has a long history of making inflammatory and outlandish statements.

In April 2021, he said during remarks at a faction meeting that “Arabs are citizens of Israel, for now, at least. They have representatives, MKs, for now at least.”

During a heated exchange in the Knesset on October 13, 2021, he said that Palestinians exist in ‘Israel’ because Israel’s first prime minister and the architect of the Nakba, David Ben Gurion, did not “finish the job” of clearing out the territory of its indigenous populations.

Smotrich said to the Arab Knesset members, “I am not talking to you, anti-Zionists, terror supporters, enemies. You’re here by mistake because Ben Gurion didn’t finish the job and didn’t throw you out in 1948.”

He is also a staunch supporter of the construction of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian-owned lands.

Describing himself as a “proud homophobe”, he organised a “parade of beasts” to counter Gay Pride, marching donkeys and goats through the streets of occupied Jerusalem.