Six Canadian MPs Travelling With Muslim Organization Denied Entry Into West Bank

Israeli police stand guard at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Sept. 8, 2024. AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean

Israel has denied entry to the West Bank for six Canadian MPs, as well as the remainder of a 30-person delegation led by a Canadian Muslim group.

The MPs were part of a group organized and sponsored by the non-profit The Canadian-Muslim Vote and accompanied by staff with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) with the aim of meeting with displaced Palestinians and community members of various faiths.

The group was denied entry as it tried to cross from Jordan into the West Bank on Dec. 16. Liberal MPs Fares Al Soud, Iqra Khalid, Gurbux Saini, Sameer Zuberi and Aslam Rana were among those denied entry, along with NDP MP Jenny Kwan.

A statement issued by Israel’s embassy in Canada said the delegation was denied entry due to concerns regarding the sponsor organization, The Canadian-Muslim Vote, which it said receives “the vast majority” of its funding from Islamic Relief Canada. The embassy said Islamic Relief Canada is a subsidiary of Islamic Relief Worldwide, which Israel has listed as a “terror entity.”

“The State of Israel will not allow the entry of organizations and individuals who are associated with designated terror entities,” the statement said.

Islamic Relief Canada has denied Israel’s accusations, saying it’s a registered humanitarian charity in Canada that has been independently audited by “reputable global accounting firms.”

“Islamic Relief accounts for every single dollar spent on its aid work. We are confident that not a single dime has ever reached any proscribed group,” Islamic Relief CEO Tufail Hussain told The Epoch Times in a Dec. 17 email.

Israel’s COGAT defence ministry division, who coordinates civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, told the Epoch Times in a Dec. 16 email that the Canadian delegation arrived “without prior coordination” and “were denied entry for security reasons.”

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said the group was not affiliated with the Government of Canada. 

“While Global Affairs Canada regrets the decision, the group was travelling independently and was not representing the Government of Canada,” GAC spokesperson Alexandre Fournier wrote in a Dec. 16 email to the Epoch Times. 

“Israel controls access to the West Bank and determines its own entry requirements, including decisions on entry and exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene in these decisions.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand commented on the matter on Dec. 16, saying Canada objects to what happened.

“Global Affairs is in contact with the delegation and we have expressed Canada’s objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians while attempting to cross,” Anand posted on X.

Following the denial of entry, Kwan said nobody in the group was a security threat and were only there to undertake humanitarian and fact-finding work. She said Israeli authorities  cited public security and safety concerns in their denial of the group.

NCCM called the refusal of entry “extremely disappointing” and accused Israel of trying to suppress documentation of the conditions in the Palestinian territories.

“This development is deeply troubling and extremely disappointing,” NCCM CEO Stephen Brown wrote in a Dec. 16 statement posted to X. “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 every member of the group had already received electronic travel authorization from Israel prior to arriving at the Allenby border crossing.

He said the delegation had planned meetings with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian advocates and community representatives across the region, including Jerusalem, Jenin, Hebron, and several refugee camps.

Brown said the delegation is already back in Jordan and will return to Canada in the near future.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.