Barred MP 'had no intention of visiting Israel'
The North Herefordshire MP for the Greens, was one of 12 people recently barred from the country.
Barred MP 'had no intention of visiting Israel'
Ellie Chowns MP is among 12 people to be banned from Israel following UK sanctions taken against the country's government
An MP who has been barred from entering Israel after the UK announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank said she had no plans to visit the country anyway.
Ellie Chowns, the Green MP for North Herefordshire, was one of 12 people recently banned from the country. Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said the decision was a response to sanctions.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced the sanctions on Wednesday, and Israel later unveiled counter-measures.
Chowns told the BBC she had turned down an invitation to Israel from an "international peace organisation" because she was worried about whether she would be stopped at the border.
"I didn't have any plans to travel there anyway, to be honest," she said, adding that she had recently spoken to someone from a peace organisation.
"They invited me to go and try and visit but I felt it was highly unlikely the Israeli government would let me in."
She added: "We all have obligations to speak out and these are fundamental British values - defending the right of people whatever their background to live in peace and security.
"And speaking out against violent action by a government if we see it."
The UK announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing Israel's government of ignoring the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians by settlers.
In a speech to Parliament, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the move marked the "beginning of a new approach" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which "not only calls out injustice and suffering but acts".
International law states that settlements are illegal
The UK sanctions will ban settlement goods and also target companies and individuals providing services for settlement expansion.
Saar accused Miliband of spreading an "outrageous lie" and announced counter-measures including closing the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem.
Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Naz Shah, Diane Abbott, Hannah Spencer, Carla Denyer, Sian Berry, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, and Adrian Ramsay were also banned from the country, along with Fahad Ansari, director of Riverway to the Sea, which describes itself as a "legal training and advocacy organisation".