"The agents explained to them that they had to leave because of strong political pressure on Bulgaria from Israel"

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip on Friday had condemned Bulgaria's expulsion of a party delegation visiting the country, blaming Israeli pressure for the move.

Bulgarian security forces on Friday raided the hotel rooms of a visiting Hamas delegation, ordering them to leave the country, a party statement said.

"We condemn this act, which reflects the scale of compliance with Zionist pressures," government spokesman Taher al-Nunu said.

Hamas leader and MP Yahya al-Abadseh said the Bulgarian government's actions were contrary to all diplomatic norms, and that the move highlighted the huge pressure the Palestinian leadership is under.

Parliament chairman Ahmad Bahar called for Bulgaria to offer a formal apology, saying the visiting deputies were protected by parliamentary immunity.

The head of the organization that invited the lawmakers to the EU-member state told AFP that Bulgarian security service agents "entered the hotel rooms of the three deputies early on Friday morning and drove them to the airport."
  
"The agents explained to them that they had to leave because of strong political pressure on Bulgaria from Israel," said Mohd Abuasi of the Centre for Middle East Studies, adding that they had departed for Istanbul.