“The State of Israel is not obliged to allow the entry of foreign officials, including parliamentarians, if they work to boycott it and undermine its legitimacy, ” said Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli.

Israel has banned member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan from entering Israel as she arrived at Ben Gurion airport on Monday from Brussels.

Israeli Daspora Ministry Amichai Chikli recommended that Interior Minister Moshe Arbel refuse entry Hassan who leads active hostile campaigns against Israel and supports a boycott of the Jewish state.
“The State of Israel is not obliged to allow the entry of foreign officials, including members of parliament, if they work to boycott it and undermine its legitimacy,’’ stated Chikli.

He added, ‘’Rima Hassan leads hostile campaigns against Israel, calls for boycotts and encourages economic sanctions. Israel will not give a platform or legitimacy to those who act against it, and we will use every means at our disposal to prevent the exploitation of our democracy for anti-Israeli ends. Israel’s sovereignty is non-negotiable, and we will defend it with determination.”

The French Palestinian extreme-left MEP, member of La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) arrived in Israel Monday for meetings with Palestinian Authority officials, according to a European Parliament source, but she was denied entry at Ben Gurion airport.

The revelation of her visit, first reported by Israel Hayom, led to a flurry of reactions in Israel, including from Interior Minister Moshe Arbel. “Hassan, consistently works to promote boycotts against Israel in addition to numerous public statements both on social media and in media interviews,” Arbel’s office said, announcing that she would be denied entry and sent back to Brussels. She was accompanied by several  people;

Rima Hassan has publicly called for the boycott of companies operating in Israel, taken part in initiatives aimed at boycotting the Jewish state and encouraging the imposition of sanctions against the country.

Among the actions cited by Israel are several recent statements: in May 2024, it called for a boycott of the French channel TF1 following an interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; in February 2025, it supported a boycott of Starbucks, accusing the company of being “complicit in the genocide in Gaza”; in September 2024, it encouraged a boycott of the Carrefour supermarket chain due to its activities in Israel; and in July 2024, it compared Israel to the South African apartheid regime, calling for a total boycott.