Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that barring a visit by U.S. Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar was meant to prevent them harming Israel.
"There is no country in the world that respects the U.S. and the American Congress more than Israel," Netanyahu said in a statement. "However, the itinerary showed that the congresswomen's sole intention was to harm Israel."
Netanyahu added that if Tlaib, of Palestinian descent, submitted a request to visit family members in the occupied West Bank on humanitarian grounds, Israel would consider it as long as she promised not to promote a boycott against Israel.