Interior Minister Aryeh Deri on Friday issued an approval for US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to enter Israel, after initially barring her and fellow Democratic party mate Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from visiting the Jewish state on a "fact-finding" mission.
Tlaib had submitted a written request to be allowed to visit her Palestinian relatives in the West Bank, "especially" her grandmother, who Tlaib said was in her 90s.
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"This could be my last opportunity to see her," Tlaib wrote.
Tlaib ended her request to Deri with an explicit promise to "respect any restrictions and [not] promote boycotts against Israel" during her visit.
Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said in a Twitter message earlier Friday that "the decision to keep the congressional representatives out was justified after a review of their planned itinerary showed that the goal of their visit was to continue supporting and promoting a boycott of Israel."
However, Erdan argued, "Rep. Tlaib's request to visit her grandmother should be approved. Especially in light of her commitment to respect Israeli law and not promote boycotts against us [while here]," the minister tweeted.
Omar, who is still being barred entry, said on Thursday that Israel's decision to block her visit to the country was an "insult to democratic values" and was unsurprising given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resistance to peace efforts.
"The irony of the 'only democracy' in the Middle East making such a decision is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation," Omar, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement after Israel barred her visit with fellow Democratic Congresswoman Tlaib.
The congresswomen have been vocal critics of Israel and advocated support for the boycott, divestments, and sanctions movement targeting the government and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely officially announced earlier Thursday that Tlaib and Omar would not be allowed to enter Israel due to their BDS support.
"Israel has decided – we won't enable the members of Congress members to enter the country," Hotovely told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
"We won't allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision," she added.
The decision to ban the two lawmakers from entering Israel, made by Deri, was first reported by Hebrew-language broadcaster Channel 12.
As final deliberations were being made on the matter, US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to encourage the Israeli government not to back down.
"It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit," Trump posted to Twitter earlier on Thursday. "They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!"
We won't allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision - Tzipi Hotovely
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was said to be weighing whether to bar the lawmakers from entering the country.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said called Israel's decision "deeply disappointing" and called on it to reverse the move.
"Israel's denial of entry to Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar is a sign of weakness, and beneath the dignity of the great State of Israel," Pelosi said.
Tlaib and Omar were expected to arrive in Israel on Friday. If Hebrew media reports are true, then the decision taken by the Netanyahu government comes despite heavy opposition from US pro-Israel groups and organizations affiliated with the US Democratic Party.
Israeli security officials had been holding secret deliberations for weeks reportedly in preparation of the lawmakers' visit, with Israel's deputy national security concluding "there is high probability" that they would want to visit the highly-sensitive Temple Mount.
Meanwhile, in Tlaib's ancestral village in the West Bank, her family said her support of the BDS movement comes from her life experience.
"As a member of American Congress and also as a Palestinian, for some of her life, Rashida lived under occupation," Tlaib's uncle Bassem told i24NEWS. "She lived the reality of suffering from the Israeli occupation, so the message of her visit will be different from what you hear in the media about this region."
Tlaib made political history in the United States as the first Palestinian-American and the first Muslim women elected to Congress this past January.
"It will be different from what the American people hear and think about the occupation. Rashida will give the right picture of the occupation and the way Palestinians live," her uncle added.
For the people of the small village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa, Tlaib represents more than just the people of Michigan. They hope that Tlaib's position in government can change US policy in the region.
"We are very proud to have a person like Rashida, not just because she is a member in American Congress but also because she is a very strong woman. She made a lot of effort to reach this point," Ashraf Samara, who leads the village council, told i24NEWS.
Parts of this article were originally published by i24NEWS.
