Six Canadian members of parliament, along with a delegation of 24 other people, were denied entry by Israel to the occupied West Bank on Tuesday while trying to cross the border from Jordan.
The group were attempting to enter as part of a trip to Israel and the West Bank sponsored by non-profit organisation The Canadian-Muslim Vote (TCMV).
The Israeli ambassador to Canada said the group of 30 had been denied entry because TCMV had links to Islamic Relief Worldwide, a non-governmental organisation proscribed by Israel as a terrorist group.
The Canadian affiliate of Islamic Relief has strongly denied that characterisation. TCMV also hit out, saying its funding came from qualified donors only.
Israeli military body Cogat, which oversees the Allenby border crossing, told CBC News that the group had been denied entry “for security reasons”, after they arrived at the Allenby border crossing “without prior co-ordination”.
The denial was described as “deeply troubling” by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), who said its staff members and community leaders were in the delegation alongside the MPs.
Five of the six MPs who were denied entry were from the governing Liberal Party. They were Fares Al Soud, Iqra Khalid, Aslam Rana, Gurbux Saini and Sameer Zuberi.
The sixth MP was Jenny Kwan, from the left-leaning New Democratic Party. Kwan called the situation “completely unacceptable” and rejected the suggestion that the lawmakers posed a public safety risk.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand confirmed the delegation had been denied entry in a statement on X on Tuesday afternoon.
She added that her ministry “expressed Canada’s objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians while attempting to cross”.
Credit: bbc.com
