Six Canadian MPs denied entry by Israel to the occupied West Bank

A delegation of Canadian parliamentarians was turned away by Israeli authorities when attempting to enter the occupied West Bank from Jordan. Six Members of Parliament were among the group of 30 individuals.

The trip to Israel and the West Bank was sponsored by The Canadian-Muslim Vote (TCMV), a non-profit organization. According to the Israeli ambassador to Canada, the denial of entry stemmed from TCMV's alleged connections to Islamic Relief Worldwide, an NGO that Israel has designated as a terrorist organization.

Both Islamic Relief Worldwide and its Canadian affiliate have refuted this characterization. TCMV has also defended itself, asserting that its funding originates exclusively from qualified donors.

Cogat, the Israeli military body responsible for overseeing the Allenby border crossing, informed CBC News that the group was denied entry on Tuesday due to “security reasons” and a lack of prior coordination.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) described the situation as “deeply troubling,” noting that its staff members and community leaders were part of the delegation, alongside the MPs.

The MPs who were denied entry included Fares Al Soud, Iqra Khalid, Aslam Rana, Gurbux Saini, and Sameer Zuberi, all members of the governing Liberal Party, and Jenny Kwan, from the New Democratic Party. Kwan deemed the situation “completely unacceptable,” rejecting any suggestion that the lawmakers posed a public safety risk.

The NCCM stated that the purpose of the trip was to “observe conditions on the ground and engage directly with Palestinian and international stakeholders.” Stephen Brown, CEO of the NCCM, criticized the Israeli government, alleging that the denial of entry is part of a “broader pattern” to restrict access to those seeking to independently witness the realities in the occupied territories.

Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed told CBC that the denial was due to TCMV's links to Islamic Relief Worldwide, reiterating that “the issue really is the link to a terrorist organisation.”

A spokesperson for Islamic Relief Worldwide called the allegation a “false” one, adding that it had attempted to challenge it in Israeli courts. “Our work in Gaza has been audited by donor governments and global audit firms, and all have confirmed that our work is purely humanitarian,” they stated.

Islamic Relief Canada CEO Tufail Hussain echoed this sentiment in a statement to Canadian media: “Claims that our charitable resources support terrorism are baseless and dangerous and they place aid workers and the beneficiaries we serve at risk.”

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand confirmed the denial of entry in a statement posted on X on Tuesday afternoon. She added that her ministry had “expressed Canada's objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians while attempting to cross.”

Notably, a different group of MPs was permitted to travel on a similar trip in 2024, also organized by TCMV.

Tensions between the Canadian and Israeli governments have increased in recent months after Canada, along with the UK, France, and other Western nations, formally recognized a Palestinian state in September. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the recognition as “disgraceful” at the time.

Earlier this year, two MPs from the UK's Labour Party were also denied entry by Israel after crossing from Jordan during a visit organized by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU). Simon Opher and Peter Prinsley were part of a parliamentary delegation in September to observe medical and humanitarian work carried out by organizations, including Medical Aid for Palestinians. A UK Foreign Office spokesperson described the incident as “totally unacceptable and deeply concerning.” Two other Labour MPs, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, had previously been denied entry to Israel in April on another visit organized by CAABU.