Israel Refused To Let Ghanaian MP Ras Mubarak Into Palestine

Ghanaian Member of Parliament Ras Mubarak was denied entry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) by Israel. Mubarak was invited to speak at the International Conference on Jerusalem in Ramallah which commenced on 11 April. Israeli authorities had issued a permit for Mubarak to enter the OPT but later refused him entry and cancelled his valid permit, Mubarak said. As the occupying power, Israel controls access to the OPT which comprises the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Other international politicians who were refused entry include South African MP Blaze Nzimande in April 2015 and the associate general secretary of the World Council of Churches Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri of Malawi in December 2016. Earlier this month, Israel announced it would deny entry to Irish mayor Mícheál Mac Donncha over his ties to Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) but spelt his name wrong and mistakenly admitted him through the border. The Daily Vox spoke to Mubarak while he was at the border.

The 9th International Jerusalem Conference organised by the Palestinian Authority is taking place and I have been invited as a delegate and a speaker at that conference. I’ve been an activist for quite a while and I guess I was invited because of my tireless advocacy for the rights of Palestinians. I was shocked when this invitation came because I didn’t know Israel would have to authorise my entry into Palestinian-controlled territories.

The Israelis have a history of harassing Palestinians and friends of Palestine. If we get in, we’re lucky and if we don’t, we’re not surprised. Even though I hold a diplomatic passport, clearly they have no respect for international protocols. They have consistently sought to intimidate, harass, and deny people entry just so they can have first-hand insight into and control over what is happening. It’s disappointing that the recent events in Gaza did not evoke international outrage and condemnation – and international sanctions. It seems there’s one rule for everybody else and another rule for everyone else.

Ghana believes that the Palestinians have the right to live peacefully in their country. The position of my country is that the two state solution is possible. Even with our voting in the United Nations, we have been very consistent. We have always voted in support of Palestine and recently over a month ago at the UN Human Rights Council, Ghana voted on all the four issues of rights in support of the Palestinians. As far as our support is concerned, it is unflinching and has transcended administrations. We have had governments that are left of centre and right of centre and consistently from the 50s when we obtained our independence, we have always stood shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinians.

At the heart of this is the indifference by the world. I have to commend South Africa for the position it has taken consistently albeit it not being surprising considering South Africa’s history of apartheid. I led and organised a march in Accra for the Palestinians and I was the only sitting member of parliament who was bold enough to call Israel by what it is and express condemnation. We don’t seem to have people who are courageous in Africa – the Steve Bikos, the Mandelas, the Govan Mbekis. Africa would have to be resolute in its support of the cause of the Palestinian people. I get so disappointed when one or two African countries abstain from voting in the UN. But I’m also encouraged by the growing number of young African activists who are appalled and sickened by the treatment of the Palestinian people whether in Kenya or South Africa or wherever.

If there’s any group of people that should be concerned with the issues of the people of Palestine, there’s no better group of people than the African people. African people themselves have been through subjugation through slavery, neo-colonisation, and the rest of it. We better understand the pains and the perils of occupation if we allow it to continue without raising our voices. It’s exceedingly important for Africans that we continue to express our disquiet at the inhuman treatment of our brothers and sisters. Injustice in any part of the world is injustice against humanity. As citizens of the world we have a moral responsibility to raise these issues. It’s quite tragic that the world keeps looking on while these things go on. It’s a scar on the conscience of all the leaders in the world. The least I can do as an African is to raise my voice on the floor of parliament and outside the floor of parliament.

Mubarak addressed the conference via teleconference from Jordan.

You can read his full speech here.

The post Israel Refused To Let Ghanaian MP Ras Mubarak Into Palestine appeared first on The Daily Vox.

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This post was syndicated from The Daily Vox. Click here to read the full text on the original website. </s> A number of international religious figures and politicians, including a Ghanaian legislator, have been denied entry by Israel after they were set to attend a conference in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

The 9th International Conference on the Holy City of Jerusalem kicked off on Wednesday, but there was a glaring absence of attendees, including a 13-member Indian delegation, a mufti from Sri Lanka, a Bosnian Muslim scholar, and the head of Australia's Islamic Council.

Ras Mubarak, the Ghana MP, was due to deliver a speech at the conference but was turned away twice at the Allenby border crossing.

"I arrived on Tuesday but was denied entry and told to return this morning only to receive the same harassment and be denied entry once again," Mubarak told Al Jazeera, adding that he was honouring an invitation by the Palestinian Authority to speak at the conference.

"The Israelis asked me what I was going to do in Palestine," he continued. "They had given me permission to enter, and then they revoked this authorisation.

"They didn't give me any reasons for denying me entry."

Mubarak, a member of the National Democratic Congress party, said the Israelis turned away two buses of people, including academics and Muslim scholars, who had arrived at the border.

Mubarak described the ordeal at the border as "unfortunate, but not surprising".

"It is not the first time they have prevented a politician or activist from entering the West Bank," he said. "It is part of an attempt to harass friends of Palestine.

"It is incumbent upon all of us to show solidarity at the African Union and UN level to ensure that this doesn't keep happening."

'There is no Palestine'

Ami Mehl, Israeli ambassador to Ghana, told Ghana's Starr News radio that Mubarak's claims of being denied entry for no reason were "just not true".

"He came without a visa to the border, [and] was asked to wait," Mehl told radio host Naa Dedei Tettey.

"I was in the middle of a conversation with Israeli authorities about his case and when I was notified he had decided to turn back and go back to his hotel in Jordan."

When Tettey mentioned that Mubarak said he had Israeli clearance to visit the West Bank, Mehl said that was a "complete lie".

Mehl then lost his cool after Tettey quoted Mubarak as saying he had permission from Israel to enter the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories).

"If you want to talk to me, you will use the terminology I use," he shouted. "There is no OPT; there is no Palestine, there was never a Palestine. It is Israel."

"It's bullsh**, it's propaganda," the Israeli ambassador went on. "[Mubarak] came to Israel without a visa. He is a propaganda machine for the Palestinians, so we do not take him seriously".

Travel permits revoked

Mahmoud Hamad, who is responsible for receiving the conference's guest delegations after they cross the Allenby border, told Al Jazeera that all the participants were issued Israeli travel permits to enter the West Bank.

"Sixty-five internationals flew into Amman airport carrying travel permits from Israeli authorities," Hamad said. "These permits were revoked upon their arrival to Allenby border.

"They came from all over the world: Australia, Mozambique, Guatemala, UK, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Ghana, South Africa, Sweden, Italy, Sri Lanka, Zambia.

"The Israeli border authorities told them all that as participants of the 9th International Conference on Jerusalem, they cannot enter."

Arrangements, including accommodation, were made for the invitees in Amman instead, and they participated in the conference through satellite video.

Jerusalem cause 'alive and well'

The first conference was held in 1931 by Jerusalem's Mufti Hajj Amin Husseini to counter the British Mandate policies affecting the status of Jerusalem.

The second conference was held in 2011, and has been hosted annually since then, with invitations extended to numerous delegations, mostly from across the Arab and Muslim world, "to discuss the importance Jerusalem holds among the three Abrahamic religions in the face of Israel's intransigence and occupation".

Khalil Karajeh, a member of the conference's preparatory committee, said this year's conference was under the theme of "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine".

"It was a challenge to US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise the city as Israel's capital," Karajeh told Al Jazeera.

"The conference is a message to the world that the Jerusalem cause is alive and well in the hearts of people."

Karajeh said "a lot of our Muslim brothers, especially the Turkish people, feel that visiting Jerusalem is obligatory since it holds Islam's third holiest site," referring to al-Aqsa Mosque.

For Ras Mubarak, it was his first attempt to visit the West Bank. He confirmed that he would file a complaint with the Ghanaian parliament.

"What happened is unacceptable," he said. "Israel is erroneously described as the only democracy in the Middle East, but when I see the gross violation of the rights of Palestinians and friends of Palestine, there is no way it can be described as so.

"If Israel wants its citizens to be treated with respect and dignity, it must reciprocate."

Additional reporting by Arwa Ibrahim

Follow Linah Alsaafin at @LinahAlsaafin </s> Ras Mubarak has been denied entry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) by Israel.

The National Democratic Congress MP for Kumbungu was traveling under the aegis of the Palestinian Authority to present a paper in Ramallah.

“It is true and very unfortunate,” Mr. Mubarak told Starr News from Jordan.

The Ghanaian MP who had permit from Israel to carry out his assignment in Palestine through the Allenby Border Crossing was stopped at Jordan.

“When we got to the Jordanian border the Israelis said they won’t allow us to go to Palestine for this particular conference. I find it unfortunate, but I’m not surprised because it is part of a strategy to persecute Palestine and to harass friends of Palestine,” Mubarak stressed.

Israel as the occupying power, controls almost all access to the Occupied Palestinian Territories which comprises the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Mubarak, who has been outspoken against Israel’s occupation in Palestine, said he will not be deterred.

“However long it takes the oppressed Palestinian people [to] get justice…If they change their minds and allow me entry, I would say what I plan to say. If they don’t, I would say it anyway,” Mubarak later said in a Facebook post.

“Ghanaians will continue to support the cause of the Palestinian people,” Mubarak added.

“What is this rogue state [Israel] afraid of? The truth? That I would witness the occupation first hand and call them out for the terrorists they are?”

Mubarak is an active member of the Palestine solidarity movement in Ghana who recently led a pro-Palestine march in Accra. He joins a growing list of African parliamentarians and dignitaries who have been critical of Israel and then denied entry into the OPT by Israel.

In April 2015, South Africa’s Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, was denied entry into the OPT, while en-route to Ramallah to promote research collaboration between the University of Johannesburg and institutions in the OPT.

In December 2016, Associate General Secretary for the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr. Isabel Apawo Phiri from Malawi, was banned from entering Israel after landing at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The Christian theologian was attending a WCC meeting in the holy city of Jerusalem. Phiri was the only African member in the WCC staff delegation and the only one who was denied entry to Israel.

 Israel’s anti-African discrimination and racism also extends to asylum-seekers, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, who the Israeli state is seeking to illegally deport.

“The politics of discrimination and apartheid should have no place to thrive in the 21st century. Alas, it is happening. A state that’s erroneously described as the only democracy in the Middle East treats international law and conventions with contempt, flouts them with increasing regularity and maintains a brutal military occupation [of Palestine] while the whole world looks on,” Mubarak wrote. </s> Ghanaian Member of Parliament, Ras Mubarak, was been denied entry into the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) by Israel yesterday, according to the Afro-Palestinian Newswire service.

The National Democratic Congress MP from the northern region of Kumbungu had been invited by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to give a speech in Ramallah and had been issued a permit by the Israeli authorities prior to arriving at the Jordanian border. However, upon reaching the Allenby Border Crossing, Mubarak was refused accesses into the occupied territories and was forced to return to Amman.

In a post on Facebook, Mubarak condemned the decision and pledged to continue speaking up for the rights of the Palestinian people.

“What is this rogue state [Israel] afraid of? The truth? That I would witness the occupation first hand and call them out for the terrorists they are? The politics of discrimination and apartheid should have no place to thrive in the 21st century. Alas, it is happening,” he wrote.

“If they change their minds and allow me entry, I would say what I plan to say. If they don’t, I would say it anyway.”

“However how long it takes the oppressed Palestinian people would get Justice,” he added.

Mubarak has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, and recently led a march in Accra against the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“A state that’s erroneously described as the only democracy in the middle east treats international law and conventions with contempt, flouts them with increasing regularity and maintains a brutal military occupation while the whole world looks on,” he wrote on Facebook.

Mubarak also now one of a growing list of African parliamentarians and dignitaries that have been denied entry to Israel due to their involvement in pro-Palestinian activism.

In April 2015, South Africa’s Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, was denied entry on route to Ramallah, where he was expected to facilitate research collaboration between the University of Johannesburg and Palestinian academics.

In December 2016, Associate General Secretary for the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri from Malawi, was also banned; she was the sole African member of the delegation that was due to meet in Jerusalem, and the only one refused entry. </s> Ghanaian Member of Parliament, Ras Mubarak, was been denied entry into the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel yesterday, according to the Afro-Palestinian Newswire service.

The National Democratic Congress MP from the northern region of Kumbungu had been invited by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to give a speech in Ramallah and had been issued a permit by the Israeli authorities prior to arriving at the Jordanian border.

However, upon reaching the Allenby Border Crossing, Mubarak was refused accesses into the occupied territories and was forced to return to Amman.

Mubarak has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, and recently led a march in Accra against the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“A state that’s erroneously described as the only democracy in the middle east treats international law and conventions with contempt, flouts them with increasing regularity and maintains a brutal military occupation while the whole world looks on,” he wrote on Facebook.

Mubarak also now one of a growing list of African parliamentarians and dignitaries that have been denied entry to Israel due to their involvement in pro-Palestinian activism. </s> The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kumbungu Constituency, Ras Mubarak, has said that he has been denied entry into Palestine by Israeli authorities.

In a Facebook post, the NDC MP said he was invited by the Palestinian Authority to give a speech in Ramallah.

“I was invited by the Palestinian Authority to give a speech in Ramallah. Israel issues a permit for me to go into Palestine. Just when I arrive at the border they won't allow me to enter Palestine.”

His post showed how unhappy he was about the treatment.

The MP who has been vocal against Israel’s occupation in Palestine, and recently led a Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in Ghana in protest of the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

He asked if the Israelis are afraid of the truth and wondered why he will be denied entry after granting him the permit.

“What is this rogue state [Israel] afraid of? The truth? That I would witness the occupation first hand and call them out for the terrorists they are? The politics of discrimination and apartheid should have no place to thrive in the 21st century.”

“…If they change their minds and allow me entry, I would say what I plan to say. If they don’t, I would say it anyway. However how long it takes the oppressed Palestinian people would get Justice,” he added.

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Ras Mubarak joins a growing number of African parliamentarians and dignitaries who have been denied entry into the OPT by Israel.

In April 2015, South Africa’s Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, was denied entry into the OPT, while en-route to Ramallah to promote research collaboration between the University of Johannesburg and institutions in the OPT.

Israelis and Arabs have been fighting over Gaza on and off, for decades. It’s part of the wider Arab Israeli conflict. </s> A senior Israeli official on Thursday formally complained to Ireland's ambassador after Dublin's mayor slipped past an entry ban to attend a Palestinian conference.

Deputy director general Rodica Radian-Gordon "expressed her amazement and deep disappointment at the fact that the mayor chose to participate in a blatantly anti-Israel event," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Lord Mayor Micheal Mac Donncha entered Israel on his way to the Israeli-occupied West Bank for a conference Wednesday night on the disputed status of Jerusalem.

Although he was officially barred from entry for alleged anti-Israel activity, he passed unchallenged through immigration at Tel Aviv airport late Tuesday, reportedly due to a clerical error misspelling his name.

Both Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Its Palestinian eastern sector was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed to the Jewish state.

Palestinians want it as the capital of their future state.

The Israeli statement quoted Radian-Gordon as saying Mac Donncha's Ramallah visit was "particularly jarring" as it took place on Holocaust remembrance day, which Israel marked from sunset Wednesday.

It added that the Jewish state "expects a public and official Irish response to the conduct of the council of its capital city and particularly its head, who are conducting a campaign of discrimination and hatred against the state of Israel".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also foreign minister, wrote on Facebook that he had instructed the ministry to hold a "clarification discussion" with Mac Donncha.

Netanyahu said the Ramallah conference "featured prominent images" of Haj Amin al-Husseini, leader of a 1936 revolt against the British mandate over Palestine and grand mufti of Jerusalem.

To Palestinians he is a national hero, but Israelis remember him as an ally of the Nazis. In 2015 Netanyahu suggested that he gave Hitler the idea to exterminate Jews -- a claim dismissed by historians.

"I have one message for the mayor," Netanyahu wrote. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Interviewed by Israeli state-run Kan 11 television outside the conference hall in Ramallah, Mac Donncha appeared never to have heard of al-Husseini.

"I'm not even aware of the individual that you mention. People who have stood up to fascism in all kinds of forms all over the world were here today," he told the interviewer.

"I think that's a distraction, it really is a distraction."

Israel ordered a probe Wednesday into how Mac Donncha was allowed into the country.

Israeli daily Haaretz said the ban order sent to airport immigration officials misspelled Mac Donncha's name, meaning he did not show up on the watch list.

The paper said he has ties with the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which promotes a boycott of Israeli businesses and foreign firms which trade in the country.

Israel's interior ministry and strategic affairs ministry blamed each other for the mixup, it said.

Air and sea passengers travelling to the West Bank must pass through Israel, while the land border between the territory and Jordan is controlled by Israeli security and immigration officials. </s> Israeli Government officials say misspelling of Mícheál MacDonncha's name allowed him into the countryDublin's Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha said he had accepted the invitation because Dublin City Council supports the people of Palestine and was critical of Israel.Israeli authorities say they are examining ways to expel Dublin's Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha and will issue him a letter after he leaves Israel stating that he will not be permitted to visit again.The Mayor is currently in the West Bank city of Ramallah after border control officials at Ben-Gurion airport failed to prevent his entry last night due to the misspelling of his name on the warrant issued preventing him from entering the country.The Sinn Féin councillor travelled to Ramallah on the invitation of the Palestinian Authority , to attend a conference held on the status of the city of Jerusalem A source in the population and immigration authority said the Dublin mayor entered Israel due to a technological glitch."The details aren't received with the man's picture," the source explained."The ministry of strategic affairs misspelled the man's name in the document it gave the border control, and that's how it was entered into the system. If someone is barred from entering, the system should produce a warning as soon as the name is entered, but when someone arrives with a passport bearing a different name, there's no way of knowing about the ban."The interior ministry claims it was provided with the wrong name, but the strategic affairs ministry insists Mr MacDonncha's name was spelled correctly.Interior minister Arieh Deri said an investigation was underway."The probe is necessary in order to prevent such mishaps in the future and to glean lessons from what happened," he said."After the Lord Mayor of Dublin departs from the country, and in light of his activity against Israel, I've instructed that a letter be delivered to him which would forbid future entry into Israeli territory."Mr Deri decided to bar the Mayor, who was invited to a conference in Ramallah as a guest of the Palestinian Authority, due to his active promotion of a boycott against Israel.Last August, Israel introduced a new policy to bar boycott activists from entering Israel. Officials in the strategic affairs ministry recommended Mr MacDonncha be denied entry into Israel due to his "consistent and clear activity to advance boycotts against Israel", and his activity in one of the most radical boycott groups, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.Strategic affairs minister Gilad Erdan said "the policy I set is clear: He who works consistently to boycott Israel will not enter here". Israel's foreign ministry also issued a statement condemning the Dublin council decision calling for the Government to expel the Israeli ambassador."The city of Dublin adopted a shameful and ridiculous resolution, in the hateful spirit of Hamas and similar organisations," the statement said."It is utterly unacceptable that the capital city of a country which is a member of the European Union adopts resolution that is entirely a boycott, hateful and racist. We expect a scathing Irish condemnation of this despicable resolution."Speaking on Wednesday morning on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr MacDonncha said he brought a message of support from Dublin for the need for inclusivity, a negotiated settlement and dialogue.Rejecting criticism that he should be focusing on the housing crisis in Dublin rather than travelling to Palestine, Mr MacDonncha said the visit was for only three days and that Ardmhéara had traditionally made occasional international visits.Mr MacDonncha said he had accepted the invitation because Dublin City Council supports the people of Palestine and was critical of Israel.Recent events in Gaza with the shooting of protesters by Israeli soldiers were reminiscent of Bloody Sunday in Derry, but on a larger scale, he said.The move by the Israeli government to declare Jerusalem the capital of the State of Israel was a backward step in the peace process, he added.Last year the United States also recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in a move that sparked protests among Palestinians. "It's very difficult to see hope of a peace deal," Mr Mac Donncha said. </s> In spite of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority’s endorsement of a peace conference being held in Paris on Sunday, other Palestinian factions were opposed to the premise of the international summit, and said they were not expecting any diplomatic breakthroughs.

Kayid al-Ghoul, a senior leader in the Gaza Strip for the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) told Ma’an on Sunday that he expected the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to turn to the United States to foil any possible outcome, five days ahead of the inauguration of US President-Elect Donald Trump — a vocal supporter of illegal Israeli settlements.

Al-Ghoul said that the premise of the conference, which is expected to recommend the resumption of peace negotiations toward a two-state solution, meant “bypassing the right of return and self determination” for Palestinians.

Similarly, Daoud Shihab, a senior Islamic Jihad official in Gaza, described the conference as merely another attempt to resume a peace process “that Israel has already killed and buried, while the international community still refuses to admit that Israel is the main source” of the crisis.

He also warned that Netanyahu’s “terrorist government” could react to the outcome of the conference with more demolitions of Palestinian homes and land confiscations in the occupied territory. Last month, Israel responded to a UN resolution condemning illegal settlements by approving new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem.

A Gaza-based leader within the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Talal Abu Tharifa, also warned of a possibility that the conference may create “low standards” regarding Palestinian rights.

He highlighted Israel’s belligerent opposition to any international intervention in the peace process by pointing to how Israel has been outraged over the mere fact the conference was held in the first place.

In his weekly cabinet remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu slammed the Paris conference, calling it “useless.” “I must say that this conference is among the last twitches of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow’s world will be different — and it is very near,” the Israeli prime minister ominously declared.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed the conference, and told French daily Le Figaro on Saturday that he believed the summit could be be the last chance to implement the two-state solution, saying that “2017 has to be the year the occupation ends, the year of freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.”

However, an increasing number of Palestinians say the prospect of a two-state reality has become dimmer, amid an a growing extremism among Israel’s right-wing government and public, and a surge in illegal Israeli settlement construction that has now obtained the stamp of approval by US President-elect Donald Trump.

A number of Palestinian activists have criticized the two-state solution as unsustainable and unlikely to bring durable peace, proposing instead a binational state with equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.
The 9th International Conference on the Holy City of Jerusalem begins, with Israel denying access to the Palestinian Authority-hosted conference to a number of foreign invitees including a party of thirteen Indians, two buses containing academics, and Ghanan MP Ras Mubarak. Israel's ambassador to Ghana denies ever issuing Mubarak with permission to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories, calling Mubarak a "propaganda machine" and claims it's a "complete lie".