A delegation of French left-wing lawmakers saw their visas canceled by Israeli authorities, Sunday, April 20, two days before a planned trip. Among them were MPs François Ruffin and Alexis Corbière, formerly members of the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) and now sitting with the Greens. The ban was reminiscent of the one imposed on French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, a member of LFI, who was turned away at the airport on February 24.

The delegation, which included Communist and Green elected officials, mayors and civil society figures invited by the French consulate in Jerusalem, was scheduled to visit Israel as well as the Palestinian territories from April 20 to 24. They denounced the move as a "collective punishment" at a press conference on Tuesday. The Israeli government justified its decision by invoking a law that allows the barring of entry to individuals who intend to act against the state of Israel.

It is the first time an entire French delegation has been denied access to Israeli soil. During a press conference held on April 22, Ruffin, Corbière and the rest of the delegation appealed to President Emmanuel Macron and the French Foreign Ministry. Messages were also sent to several officials in Macron's camp to escalate the matter to the highest level of government. However, the request remained unanswered, at the time of publishing this article.

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