Arab lawmakers were not permitted to meet with a delegation of the European Parliament in the Knesset building on Tuesday after refusing to allow the participation of the Knesset’s diplomatic affairs adviser.
The meeting with members of the Joint Arab List, the third largest faction in the Knesset, was held outside, after which the visiting European delegates entered the building for a meeting with Speaker Yuli Edelstein.
Knesset members Yousef Jabareen and Aida Touma-Suliman said they did not want Knesset representatives present at the meeting because the discussion with the European delegation involved “sensitive issues”.
But a statement issued by Edelstein’s office said that “according to Knesset practice, every official delegation is accompanied by the Knesset’s diplomatic adviser or another professional. These are professionals, devoid of political bias, whose job is to develop parliamentary relations, follow-up on visits, create continuity, etc. The refusal by members of the Joint Arab List, not for the first time, is strange and unaccepted.
“Knesset Speaker Edelstein insisted that if this morning’s meeting cannot be held according to accepted Knesset custom, it is no longer an official Knesset meeting and can thus not be held on the premises.”
Edelstein explained this to the delegation, and “it appeared they understood his point of view”, according to the statement.
The statement also criticized the Arab legislators for their refusal to attend a speech last month in the Knesset plenary by the president of the German legislature, despite repeated requests to respect for the guest.
The European Parliament and European Union fund hundreds of welfare, health and education projects for Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians.
The EU this week called on Israel to “halt plans for forced population transfer and house demolitions” in the Palestinian village of Sussiya in the West Bank, days after Washington issued a similar call.
Israel’s military ruling authority in the West Bank claims the Palestinians built their homes in the village of Sussiya without permission and lack necessary infrastructure.
Residents of the village in the south Hebron Hills insist that they have been forced to build illegally because permits are never granted and they accuse the Israeli authorities of deliberately denying them access to facilities.
