MPs decry treatment by Israel, minister raises objections after Canadian delegation denied entry to West Bank

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One of the MPs in the delegation says she was yelled at and pushed by Israeli officers while being held at the border crossing for several hours.

Mississauga-Erin Mills MP Iqra Khalid told our colleague Raffy Boudjikanian that she was watching another delegate being questioned by a number of Israeli officers when she stepped closer to make sure the delegate was safe.

One officer told her to move back, she said, and then another officer came toward her.

"He was yelling and screaming at my face, telling me to go away, and he pushed me back into the wall," Khalid said.

"At that point, I said, 'Please don't touch me,' and he said, 'I will touch you as much as I want,' and pushed me again."

Khalid said other delegates intervened "and took me away from that situation before it escalated."

"I was shocked at the aggressive and hostile behaviour by these officials," Khalid said.

"Islamic Relief Canada is a Canadian-registered humanitarian charity operating under Canadian law, with rigorous compliance controls and extensive independent auditing," Hussain said.

"The IRC staff who were denied entry into the West Bank by Israeli authorities today had received pre-authorization to enter by the very same embassy making these ridiculous accusations. Claims that our charitable resources support terrorism are baseless and dangerous and they place aid workers and the beneficiaries we serve at risk.

"We will continue delivering humanitarian assistance transparently, responsibly, and with accountability."

Moed pointed to the mass shooting Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which Australian police have deemed "a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State," as an example of why countries need to be vigilant.

"We should be very, very worried, all of us, about links to terrorist organizations and the fact that all of us need to protect ourselves," Moed said.

"And this is exactly what Israel is doing."

Moed said he was not implying the MPs who were part of the delegation were terrorists, "but I am saying that people behind this visit are listed as terrorist organizations."

"I think we should be all very worried about that, very wary of such links, and think about how we handle ourselves, and how do we really achieve our legitimate goals of support, of sympathy."

“So, for us, it was reason to check with members of this delegation what their intentions were, and since they did not co-operate with the authorities on the border, their entry was denied,” Moed said.

Israel is a democracy that has admitted the “vast majority” of visitors without question, Moed said.

“The issue really is the link to a terrorist organization.”

Moed said Canadian-Muslim Vote has ties to Islamic Relief Worldwide, which the Israeli government lists as a terrorist entity.

The group sponsoring the trip, the Canadian-Muslim Vote, sent a statement to my colleague Raffy Boudjikanian saying it is "disgusted but not surprised" by the Israeli government's response to the Canadian group's attempted entry into the West Bank.

"TCMV is a proud donor-funded organization that receives contributions from qualified [donors], and our support comes from folks who believe that a healthy democracy belongs to all of us," it said. "Clearly, that's not something that Israel believes."

It believes Canadians will see Israel's actions as "a rather pathetic attempt by the Israeli government to justify why they blocked Canadian MPs from seeing settlement violence and meeting Muslims, Christians and Jews in the region," the statement adds.

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 some members of the delegation were asked — and 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.' CORRECTION (Dec. 16, 2025): A previous version of this video included an anchor intro that said delegates 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. We have trimmed this video.

Kwan says the delegation had advised the Canadian government of its trip and plans, which in turn communicated the information 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."

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