BBC:
Israel is blocking two US Democratic lawmakers and prominent critics of Israel from visiting.
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were due to visit the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem next week.
Both have supported the boycott movement against Israel, but Israeli law allows supporters of the campaign to be banned from visiting.
President Trump earlier tweeted it would show „great weakness“ if the pair were allowed entry.
On Thursday, Mr Trump took to Twitter to urge that they be blocked from visiting, adding that „they hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds“.
…
The US ambassador to Israel said in a statement that the US „supports and respects the decision of the Government of Israel to deny entry“.
Israel „has every right to protect its borders against those activists in the same manner as it would bar entrants with more conventional weapons,“ wrote Ambassador David Friedman.
The US president encourages a foreign power to bar entry to sitting US members of Congress? A US ambassador compares US members of Congress to „entrants with more conventional weapons“?
I make a point of not reading articles about Trump tweets, but this is one case where I see a serious state crime having been committed. I am curious to see what the reaction to this will be.
