Israel denies entry to Canadian MPs trying to reach occupied West Bank 

Israel has denied entry to a group of Canadian lawmakers who were seeking to reach the occupied West Bank to hold talks with Palestinian officials and human rights advocates, Canadian civil society groups say.

Six members of Canada’s Parliament were trying to reach the West Bank from neighbouring Jordan when the Israeli authorities turned them back, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said in a statement on Tuesday.

NCCM said the MPs – who were travelling alongside Canadian community leaders as part of a trip organised by The Canadian Muslim Vote, a nonprofit group – were told they were considered “public safety threats”.

“This development is deeply troubling and extremely disappointing,” NCCM CEO Stephen Brown said in the statement.

“Israeli authorities had issued electronic travel authorizations to all members of the delegation, yet lawful observers, including elected Canadian officials, were ultimately barred from entry as ‘public safety threats’,” he said.

“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.”

In a statement on social media, the Canadian Muslim Vote said “the inability of Canadian elected officials and observers to access the region is a matter of public interest and raises important questions for Canadians.”

The Israeli Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment on Tuesday.

The Canadian Global Affairs ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel maintains control over all the crossings into the occupied West Bank and routinely turns away foreign citizens it views as critical of Israeli policies and human rights abuses against Palestinians.

The Canadian delegation included six parliamentarians, according to a report from Canada’s public broadcaster: five from Canada’s governing Liberal Party and one from the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP).

The NDP MP, Jenny Kwan, told CBC News earlier this week that she expected Israel to obstruct the delegation’s visit. “At any juncture, anything could happen,” Kwan said.

Canada has been a staunch ally of Israel for decades.

But the Canadian government has faced sustained calls to cut off its longstanding support for the country amid Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 70,000 people since October 2023.

The West Bank also has seen a surge in Israeli military and settler violence in the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza, with tens of thousands of Palestinians forced from their homes over the past year.

On Tuesday, advocacy group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemned Israel’s decision to block the Canadian delegation.

The group called on Canada to impose diplomatic sanctions against the Israeli government and expel the country’s ambassador in response.

“Israel is an illegitimate occupying power in Palestine, and simply does not have the right to bar entry to Canadian lawmakers into the country,” the group’s president, Yara Shoufani, said in a statement.

Shoufani noted that the entry denial comes just months after Canada, along with several of its European allies, announced plans to recognise an independent Palestinian state.

“Just months after Canada recognized Palestinian statehood, Israel is demonstrating its apartheid rule over Palestine and fundamental denial of Palestinian self-determination. Canada must impose consequences on Israel in response to this major violation of diplomacy,” she said.