Welsh Euro MP Jill Evans has been forced to cancel a visit to Palestine this week and has strongly protested against the behaviour of the Israeli authorities for refusing to let an international civil mission into the country to take part in a symbolic demonstration.

Ms Evans had been invited to join in a human chain to be formed in the West Bank and Jerusalem protesting against the ongoing sieges and blockades, and emphasising the belief that non-violence paves the way to end the occupation and to bring about peace. The international event was organised by the Israeli-Palestinian Peoples' Peace Campaign, which represents both Palestinian and Israeli peace movements, and should have taken place on 28th and 29th June. It has now had to be cancelled.

The leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament said:

"I am very disappointed that the Israeli authorities have decided to act in such an unreasonable way. This was to be a peaceful and symbolic event. It’s aim was to show that, despite the extremely difficult situation at the present moment, Israelis, Palestinians and the international community are ready to hold hands because we believe that we are each others allies for peace."

The decision to cancel the event was made after groups of international civilians arriving at Ben Gurion airport were denied entrance by the Israeli border police despite the human chain having been previously officially permitted by the authorities. The reason given for denying entry was that “participating in the human chain was not a sufficient reason for entering Israel".

Among those refused entry were members of the European Parliament and around 350 Italians, representing Action for Peace and Peace Roundtable Coalitions, and the Regional Government of Campania, Toscana and Umbria. Others included delegations from trade unions, local authorities and political parties. Many were forced to return home immediately, whilst 15 people had to spend the night in a cell, where they only received food and water after twelve hours and after repeated requests from the Italian Embassy in Israel. Diplomatic sources say that the decision to prevent any international citizens from taking part in the human chain was taken by the Interior Ministry of Israel. Jill Evans added:

"Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales has long called on Israel to abide by UN resolutions and withdraw from the occupied territories. The crisis has now reached such an appalling level that we need to bring pressure to bear on all levels in order to re-establish a dialogue and end the spiral of violence which is engulfing the region. It was hoped that the involvement of Members of the European Parliament in the symbolic human chain would have contributed to that aim. Unfortunately the totally unreasonable attitude of the Israeli authorities has thwarted that hope."

Jill Evans visited Palestine in April as part of a European Parliamentary fact-finding delegation. During the visit she held meetings with representatives of both the Israeli and Palestinian communities, including Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

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