Israel Denies Entry to West Bank for Six Canadian MPs

Israel denied entry to the occupied West Bank for six Canadian MPs who were in Jordan, accusing the delegation of being sponsored by a 'terrorist entity.' Jenny Kwan, an opposition MP from the New Democratic Party (NDP), told AFP that a fellow MP from Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party, Iqra Khalid, was 'pushed multiple times' by an Israeli officer at the border.

The parliamentarians were part of a group of 24 Canadians on a trip organized by Canadian-Muslim Vote, a charitable organization. In a statement to AFP, the Israeli embassy in Canada claimed that this organization receives funding from Islamic Relief Canada, a subsidiary of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), which is listed as a terrorist entity by the state of Israel.

IRW has long denied Israeli accusations of being linked to the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Jenny Kwan stated that the Canadian delegation had informed Israeli authorities in advance about their trip, which was meant to include meetings with NGOs as well as representatives from Palestinian and Jewish civil society.

'Canada's government officially notified the Israeli government before the trip,' she said in a statement.

'Electronic permits to enter the West Bank had initially been approved,' but upon their arrival at the Allenby crossing on Tuesday, 'the entire delegation was denied entry.'

Before leaving Canada, the MP had anticipated potential difficulties entering the West Bank due to Mark Carney's decision to recognize the Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

'I wondered if that would be a problem,' she confided.

The Canadian delegation has since returned to Amman, the Jordanian capital.

On Tuesday afternoon, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand stated on X that Ottawa had 'expressed Canada's objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians during their attempted passage.'