Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett has withdrawn from a NFL trip to Israel sponsored by the Israeli government.

Bennett said he objects to being co-opted as a “goodwill ambassador” and said he would visit Israel in his own time. “I will not be used in such a manner,” he said.

The announcement comes just days after Bennett’s brother Marcellus, who plays for the New England Patriots, said he would reject an offer from President Trump to be honored with his Super Bowl-winning team-mates at the White House.

Michael Bennett first tweeted a picture of Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael with the caption: “I’m not going to Israel.” He then explained his motivation with a longer post.

Im not going to Israel pic.twitter.com/KWzA0nCiFb — Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) February 10, 2017

He wrote: “I was not aware that my itinerary was being constructed by the Israeli government for the purposes of making me, in the words of a government official, an ‘influencer and opinion-former’ who would then be ‘an ambassador of goodwill’.

“I will not be used in such a manner. When I do go to Israel – and I do plan to go – it will be to see not only Israel but also the West Bank and Gaza so I can see how the Palestinians, who have called this land home for thousands of years, live their lives.

“I want to be a voice for the voiceless, and I cannot do that by going on this kind of trip to Israel.”

The Denver Broncos running back Justin Forsett also said he would not be going on the trip. The NFL players will arrive in Israel on Monday, and a friendly game with players from the Israeli Football Association is scheduled for 18 February in Jerusalem.

A group of activists including Alice Walker and Harry Belafonte wrote an open letter to the Nation this week to urge players to “consider the political ramifications of a propaganda trip organized by the Israeli government”. It said the visit “aims to prevent players from seeing the experience of Palestinians living under military occupation”.

In a statement announcing the trip, the Israeli minister for strategic affairs and public diplomacy, Gilad Erdan, said: “I see great importance in the arrival of this delegation of NFL stars to Israel. I have no doubt that their visit will be a powerful experience for them and I hope that, through their visit, they will get a balanced picture of Israel.”

He continued: “The ministry I lead is spearheading an intensive fight against the delegitimization and BDS [boycott, divestment and sanction] campaigns against Israel, and part of this struggle includes hosting influencers and opinion-formers of international standing in different fields, including sport.”

This week, Israel’s parliament approved a controversial bill to retroactively “legalize” illegal Jewish outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land. Critics have said the law could drag Israel into a battle at the international criminal court.