Access denied: how Israel is avoiding scrutiny of its actions

Much furor erupted last week when Israel denied entry and deported for the first time ever two British MPs. A barrage of nonsense was spewed about a delegation we at the Council for Arab-British Understanding helped organize. It was a delegation to the West Bank, not Israel. It was never about Israel, but about assessing humanitarian projects and the challenges facing Palestinian communities under occupation. The MPs were not there to spread hate against Israel.

Yet the real story is not about these two Labour MPs, both of whom received welcome from the British government and parliamentary backing. It is that they and others are not allowed to witness the reality of life in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Israeli denials of access are becoming more frequent. In February, two European members of the European Parliament were also refused entry and sent packing.

Within the West Bank, leading international politicians have had their access curtailed by Israel. James Cleverly, when British foreign secretary, and his Irish and Norwegian counterparts were informed by Israeli authorities that they could not visit the village of Ein Samiya in the West Bank in September 2023. The village had been emptied of its Palestinian inhabitants. Even a development minister from Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies and collaborators, was denied access into Gaza back in 2010.  

Gaza has been restricted for years. British politicians have not been allowed into the enclave via the Erez checkpoint since 2009. Even then, our delegation had to wait to be allowed in. One MP has made it through since, but she went as a breast cancer surgeon.

UN agencies have all been restricted

Chris Doyle

However, all categories of those who might bear witness to Israeli activities have faced more arduous restrictions.

Human rights groups are a prime target. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the International Committee of the Red Cross has not been allowed to visit Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails. The exception was when overseeing Palestinian detainee release during the period of the recent deal. In 2019, Israel expelled Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch.

International journalists, except some embeds, have not been allowed into Gaza since October 2023. Even during the recent pause in military operations, they were still not allowed access — a point made powerfully by the BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen. Their Palestinian colleagues have clearly been targeted to prevent the story from being broadcast to the outside world. And who can forget the murder of the Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin in 2022?

Diplomats as well have been denied access. None can get into Gaza. I have witnessed a local Israeli commander produce an order declaring a village in the south Hebron hills a closed military zone as a large European diplomatic delegation arrived to visit the site, which had been under attack from Israeli settlers. The date of the order was not even accurate. The diplomats had to leave.

UN agencies have all been restricted. International staff have increasingly found it harder to get visas, particularly since 2018. The Knesset has banned the UN refugee agency UNRWA from operations in all the areas under Israeli control. This included ordering six UNRWA schools closed in occupied Jerusalem. Israel will not accept any entry of UN commissions of inquiry or, since 2008, any of the UN special rapporteurs on occupied Palestinian territories.

Gaza is close to being totally cut off

Chris Doyle

Humanitarian agencies have likewise seen intensifying restrictions. Since 2023, international workers have been able to apply only for short-term visas. They now face a new set of draconian restrictions, not least over a new Israeli NGO registration system. The draft legislation will grant Israeli authorities extensive powers to ban and restrict registrations of NGOs and to deny staff entry. All existing NGOs will have to reapply for permits. This creates an environment of anxiety about whether life-saving projects will be able to continue.

Healthcare workers have also been a target. According to the UN, over 400 aid workers, including 280 UN personnel, have been killed in Gaza in the past 18 months. Yet getting doctors and medical professionals in has been more difficult, too.

Gaza is close to being completely and totally cut off. Internet access has been severed on occasions by Israel, but remains highly reduced. However, the story, the images, and the video footage still gets out. Even if the full scale of the horror is not comprehensively documented, the evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide stacks up every day.

In the West Bank, the stage is set for a similar scenario. All the tools are there to bring it about, not least dozens of new checkpoints. Israel controls all entry and access. 

International actors have to push back on this. Israel would like to further its process of ethnic cleansing and genocide away from prying eyes. The antidote is to open all the Palestinian territories for proper scrutiny of what is happening.

• Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech