MP and MSP detained by Israel and barred from entering West Bank
SNP MP Lara Bird and the Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens were part of an international delegation turned away by Israeli security forces.
MP and MSP detained by Israel and barred from entering West Bank
SNP MP Lara Bird said Israeli authorities held her for eight hours
Two Scottish politicians have said Israeli authorities detained them for eight hours while they were attempting to enter the West Bank.
SNP MP Lara Bird and Scottish Greens MSP Kate Nevens said they were stopped from entering the territory, then questioned and eventually sent back.
In a social media post, Bird said they had planned to "stand alongside Palestinians being attacked for harvesting olives on their own land".
They had gone to the region as part of a Progressive International delegation that also included Labour MP Clive Lewis and a former member of the Basque senate.
On Monday, the Israeli military said all West Bank land crossings would be shut as part of heightened security measures during Tuesday's national elections.
Writing on Instagram, Bird said the 23-strong group was "interrogated and ultimately prevented from crossing the border".
In recent days, about 2,000 Palestinian residents have been displaced in Hebron, a city in the southern West Bank.
Online footage appeared to show one street being entirely flattened by bulldozers.
That followed the killing of two Israeli soldiers by Palestinian gunmen.
There have also been reports of several other attacks on Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the lead-up to the elections.
These are the first elections since the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023.
An SNP spokesperson said the party was "proud to stand with the Palestinian people".