Canadian delegation of MPs denied entry into West Bank

A delegation of 30 Canadians, including six Members of Parliament, was denied entry into the West Bank early on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), which had members in the group, told CBC News each delegate was asked to sign a form declaring they acknowledge they are a threat to public safety, which they declined to do.

NCCM’S CEO Stephen Brown, who is not on the trip, described the development as “deeply troubling and extremely disappointing.” In a statement emailed to CBC News, he said that members of the delegation had been granted electronic travel authorizations by Israel before arriving at the border. 

“While we are saddened by this outcome, it regrettably aligns with a broader pattern by the Israeli government of restricting access to those seeking to independently witness the realities in the occupied territories,” Brown said in the statement.

The group, which tried to enter the West Bank by land from the Allenby crossing in Jordan, is on a sponsored travel trip organized by a Canadian registered non-profit charity organization, the Canadian Muslim Vote.

The MPs had planned to meet with civil society groups, Palestinian refugees and internally displaced people, as well as officials from the Canadian government and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Those meetings were to be held across the region, including in Jerusalem, Jenin, Hebron and multiple refugee camps, the NCCM statement said.

The statement also said members of the delegation are safe and are now on their way back to Jordan, with plans to return to Canada after attending a series of meetings in Jordan.

A deteriorating relationship

Last week, the NDP’s Jenny Kwan, the party’s only MP in the group, told CBC News she suspected they could be denied entry because of the deteriorating relationship between the Canadian government and Israel over the last two years.

The other MPs in the group are from the governing Liberal caucus.

The trip comes almost three months after the Canadian government formally recognized a Palestinian state, just ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, a symbolic gesture that nevertheless angered Israel.

“Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats,” Netanyahu told the UNGA a week after Canada’s announcement, also criticizing other Western countries that had opted for recognition, such as France and the United Kingdom.

In January 2024, a similar group of Liberal and NDP MPs was able to get into Israel and visit displaced Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

CBC News had inquired with the Israeli government for comment on the pending visit on Monday. At the time, spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said she had no information to share.

CBC News has inquired with Israeli authorities for updates.

More to come