A commotion ensued at the Knesset on Monday after the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party Itamar Ben-Gvir interrupted a special address by visiting European Parliament President Roberta Metsola with shouts of "Jerusalem is not for sale."
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Ben-Gvir interrupted Metsola after she said the European Parliament supported the two-state solution "with a secure State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security."
He later accused the lawmakers of the Joint Arab List of being "terrorists."
Metsola also told MKs "being antisemitic means being anti-European," and vowed commitment for "to break the cycle and combat antisemitism."
Metsola had arrived in Israel on Sunday – her first trip to the Jewish state – and visited the Tel Aviv University, where she told a packed crowd at Sourasky Central Library that she would advocate for strengthened ties between Israel and the EU.
Metsola was voted in as president in January, and at the age of 43 became the youngest person ever to hold the EU parliament presidency and the first from Malta.
Earlier, Israel sparked tensions with Metsola for refusing entry to EU lawmaker Manu Pineda.
The Foreign Ministry noted the Spanish communist politician's name had not appeared on the list of delegation members set to accompany Metsola on her Israel visit. The assessment, however, is that Pineda was denied entry due to his anti-Israel activism.
Pineda serves as the chairman of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Palestinian Authority. He is a longtime pro-Palestinian activist known for his efforts to promote a boycott of the Jewish state. While departing from Israel the last time he was in the country, Pineda received a letter informing him any future visit to the country would require Israel's authorization in advance.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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