ICJP condemns far-right Israeli MK entry into UK

London (QNN)- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has condemned on Thursday the entry of far-right Israeli MK Bezalel Smotrich to the United Kingdom.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the ICJP said it had written on 10 February, 2022 to Secretary of State for the Home Department, Priti Patel MP, regarding the presence of Smotrich in the UK, outlining the reasons why the “individual’s presence in the UK is non-conducive to the public good, and may cause a threat to public safety pursuant to the Home Office’s guidance.”

The ICJP urged the Home Secretary to take imminent action to “prevent the individual’s entry into the UK, or in the case that he is already present in the UK, to remove him under the non-conducive framework.”

“The individual in question holds extremist views, including anti-LGBT/homophobic views, and anti-Arab/anti-Palestinian views. He has also supported a forced transfer policy of Israel’s Palestinian-Arab population, as well as segregation of Israel’s Jewish and Palestinian-Arab demographics,” ICJP said in the statement.

The ICJP urged Patel to consider barring Bezalel Smotrich’s entry to the UK, or revoking his entry clearance in accordance with the Home Office’s guidance.

“The presence of such an extremist in the UK is not conducive to the public good, and an affront to British values and democracy. Extremists like Mr. Smotrich has no place in British society,” the statement read.

Smotrich arrived in 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.”

The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) also issued a statement on Thursday condemning the entry of Smotrich to the UK.

The Muslim Association of Britain has said it is “appalled to learn” that Smotrich has been allowed entry to the UK.

“Smotrich is a racist hate preacher that has openly called for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and said David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, should have “finished the job” and thrown out all the “Arabs” in 1948. The party he leads promotes abhorrently racist views, advocates for Jewish supremacy and calls for the eradication of all non-Jews,” the MAB said in the statement.

The former head of the UK parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Crispin Blunt, also urged the government to expel 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.”

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.

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.