Israel ban on entry of EU delegation to occupied territories reflects ‘Zionist arrogance’

President of the Palestinian Association in Italy, Mohammad Hannoun, said on Monday that Israel’s ban on the entry of the EU delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories “reflects the peak of Zionist arrogance,” Quds Press reported.

Speaking to the news site, Hannoun said: “The Israeli occupation is ignoring all international conventions and diplomatic norms by denying the EU delegation entry.”

“This is not the first time the Israeli occupation has denied entry of an EU parliamentary delegation,” he added.

Hannoun considered such Israeli practices as proof of the “failure and disappointment that reflect the state of confusion and segregation of the Zionist entity.”

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He stressed that banning the entry of the EU delegation “will have positive consequences on the support of Palestinian rights and solidarity with Palestinians as this will lead to a diplomatic reaction against the Zionist state.”

He called for the EU to take a “firm” stance against the Israeli ban on the entry of the EU delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories.

A European Parliament delegation cancelled a trip to the occupied Palestinian territories on Sunday after the group’s chairperson, Manu Pineda, was denied entry to Israel.

In a letter, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said occupation forces “cannot allow the visit to Gaza of delegations with political affiliation and legislators.”