'Completely unacceptable,' MP says after Canadian delegation blocked from entering West Bank

canadian river delegation, including 6 MPs, denied accounting entry to tenanted westward Bank

Canadian delegation, including 6 MPs, denied entry to occupied West Bank

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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted a statement on X this afternoon concerning the "mistreatment" of the Canadian delegation.

"Today a private delegation of Canadians — which included Members of Parliament — was denied entry to the West Bank at an Israeli border crossing," Anand wrote.

"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."

We quoted an interview with the National Council of Canadian Muslims, who said the Canadian MPs were denied entry at the border after they declined to sign a form saying they were public safety risks.

In fact, the form simply states that the reason for denial is "public security or public safety or public order considerations" and asks that the person seeking entry acknowledge with a signature that the decision was delivered to them.

MP rejects reason Canadian delegation denied entry into West Bank

Jenny Kwan, the NDP MP for Vancouver-East, was one of six members of Parliament denied entry into the occupied West Bank on Tuesday by the Israeli government, on the grounds of 'government, public security, public safety or public order considerations.' Kwan pushed back on the justification of the refusal of entry, calling it 'completely unacceptable.'

Kwan says the delegation had advised the canadian river authorities of its trip up and plans, which in turn over communicated the info to Israel.

Kwan explained that Canadian members of Parliament are issued special passports and that they were not handed the form with the statement denying them entry — and therefore were not asked to sign it.

Still, she doesn't believe the reasons used by Israel to justify the denial.

"I for one reject that notion that civil societies who are doing humanitarian work on the ground [are] a security threat and I also reject the fact that members of Parliament, doing our work, also pose, somehow, a security threat," Kwan said.

Before they attempted to enter, she said the delegation had visited a refugee camp in Jordan and spoken to families there about their experiences in the West Bank.

Kwan said she hasn't yet heard how the Canadian government will react to the news, but said, "You have to ask the question: what is it that the Israeli government is trying to hide?"

Another member of the Canadian delegation told Al Jazeera that the group was held for several hours at the border crossing before authorities said they would not be allowed entry into the occupied West Bank.

Fawad Kalsi, the CEO of Penny Appeal Canada, a relief and development organization based in Mississauga, Ont., called the denial of entry — particularly on security grounds — "really concerning."

"Why were we blocked — civil society members, charities? What are they trying to hide?" he said.

Kalsi also called on Canada to get answers from Israel about why this happened: "I think it's super, super important for our government to ask those questions and get those answers."

Vancouver MP Jenny Kwan, the sole NDP MP on the trip, has just released a statement, confirming the entire delegation was denied entry to the occupied West Bank on the basis of "public security, public safety or public order considerations."

"I categorically reject the assertion that elected officials and civil society organizations engaging in humanitarian and fact-finding work pose any risk to public safety, security, or public order," she writes.

The Canadian government had informed Israel of the planned travel, she said, and all arrangements and documentation were completed in advance of the trip.

"The denial of entry to elected parliamentarians and civil society organizations engaged in peaceful, transparent parliamentary activity raises serious concerns regarding the openness of channels for dialogue," the statement said.

"The use of security and public order narratives to limit legitimate fact-finding work is completely unacceptable."

Canadian beaten during attack in West Bank

A Canadian was among four international volunteers who were beaten and had their passports stolen during an attack in the West Bank. The activists were part of a group trying to help Palestinians during a rise in settler violence.

Late last month, a Canadian woman from British Columbia was injured after she said she was beaten by settlers in the West Bank.

The woman said 10 masked settlers knocked on her door early one morning and attacked her and three other people.

She says she was kicked multiple times in the face, ribs, abdomen and in her hip and thigh area. She said another activist was beaten more severely and kicked repeatedly in the groin area.

Hi it's Raffy Boudjikanian, senior reporter with the Parliamentary Bureau, reporting from Jerusalem for a spell.

I've just spoken with Stephen Brown, the CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), following the delegation's entry into the occupied West Bank — and subsequently Israel — being denied.

As he said earlier in a written statement, Brown called the rejection an outrage.

He also said it was foreseeable that the government of Israel would not want observers on the West Bank.

I spoke to him from his home in Montreal. Brown was part of a similar delegation, with a different group of Liberal and NDP MPs, in January 2024. It, too, took part in sponsored travel by the registered non-profit charity group, the Canadian Muslim Vote.

Brown said at the time, nobody was required to fill out any forms, and everyone was able to get in.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) is decrying Israel's refusal to allow the MPs to enter the West Bank, saying it raises concerns about the ability of elected officials to carry out fact-finding missions.

In its statement, Israel's COGAT agency said the group arrived "without prior co-ordination," though it's unclear what type of co-ordination beyond authorization paperwork would have been necessary.

Stephen Brown, the CEO of NCCM, told my colleague Raffy Boudjikanian that everyone in the group had received electronic travel authorizations necessary to enter Israel.

"There's no reason they should have been denied entry at the border," Brown said.

"It's foreseeable that the Government of Israel does not want the world to see what is happening with the illegal settlements in the West Bank."

It's worth mentioning that even with those digital authorizations, visitors are not guaranteed entry into Israel. As Raffy notes, when you apply for those visas, there is a line that says you will still be subject to control at the border.

Canada's ethics commissioner publishes a registry of elected officials' sponsored foreign trips. The registry shows MPs have taken about 25 trips to Israel sponsored by various groups between 2011 and November 2023.

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather is listed as having taken three such trips.

"Following checks conducted by the security authorities in co-ordination with Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Population and Immigration Authority, their entry into the Judea and Samaria area was denied for security reasons," the statement said.

The Israeli government uses the ancient Biblical names Judea and Samaria to refer to the occupied West Bank.

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