Israel allows US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib's visit 'on humanitarian grounds' day after ban

TEL AVIV, 16 August. - (ANA) - The decision to let Tlaib in comes one day after Israel's Interior Ministry blocked her and fellow Democratic congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, from visiting the country due to their support for the pro-Palestinian BDS movement.

Israel's Interior Ministry on Friday announced that it would let US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in on “humanitarian grounds”, reversing its previous decision to bar her and Rep. Ilhan Omar from visiting the country.

In a letter to Interior Minister Arye Dery, Tlaib asked to be allowed into Israel to see her grandmother living in the Palestinian village of Beit Ur al-Fouqa in the northern West Bank.

“This could be my last opportunity to see her,” Tlaib wrote, vowing not to promote anti-Israel boycotts during her stay in the country.

"Tlaib sent a letter last night to Minister Dery, in which she promised to hold to Israel's requests, respect the limitations put on her for the visit and also affirmed that she would not promote the boycott against Israel during her visit," the minister's office said in a statement Friday, as quoted by Haaretz.

Arye Dery, in turn, said he was hopeful that Tlaib Arye Derywill stand by her obligations and the visit will be for humanitarian means alone.”  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/16 August 2019 - - -