Six Canadian MPs denied entry by Israel to the occupied West Financial institution

[ad_1] Nadine Yousif , Senior Canada reporter and

James FitzGerald

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6c0e/live/6f4f0ef0-dac5-11f0-9876-9539976e0f1d.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Getty Images A photo of Anita Anand speaking in front of several media microphones. She has wavy black hair that sits below her shoulder, and she is wearing a purple blazer with a patterned, lilac scarf" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Getty Photographs Canada's overseas minister Anita Anand confirmed the MPs have been denied entry, and mentioned she she had "expressed Canada's objections"

Six Canadian members of parliament, together with a delegation of 24 different folks, have been denied entry by Israel to the occupied West Financial institution whereas attempting to cross the border from Jordan.

The group was trying to enter as a part of a visit to Israel and the West Financial institution sponsored by non-profit organisation The Canadian-Muslim Vote (TCMV).

The Israeli ambassador to Canada mentioned the group had been denied entry as a result of TCMV had hyperlinks to Islamic Aid Worldwide, a non-governmental organisation proscribed by Israel as a terrorist group.

Islamic Aid Worldwide and its Canadian affiliate each strongly deny that characterisation. TCMV additionally hit out, saying its funding got here from certified donors solely.

Israeli army physique Cogat, which oversees the Allenby border crossing, informed CBC Information that the group of 30 had been denied entry on Tuesday "for safety causes", after they arrived on the Allenby border crossing "with out prior co-ordination".

The denial was described as "deeply troubling" by the Nationwide Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), who mentioned its workers members and neighborhood leaders have been within the delegation alongside the MPs.

5 of the six MPs who have been denied entry have been from the governing Liberal Social gathering. They have been Fares Al Soud, Iqra Khalid, Aslam Rana, Gurbux Saini and Sameer Zuberi.

The sixth MP was Jenny Kwan, from the left-leaning New Democratic Social gathering. Kwan known as the scenario "utterly unacceptable" and rejected the suggestion that the lawmakers posed a public security threat.

The NCCM mentioned the objective of the journey was "observing circumstances on the bottom and fascinating instantly with Palestinian and worldwide stakeholders".

Stephen Brown, the CEO of the NCCM, criticised the Israeli authorities, saying the denial of entry was a part of a "broader sample" to limit entry "to these in search of to independently witness the realities within the occupied territories".

Iddo Moed, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, informed CBC that the explanation for denial was attributable to TCMV's hyperlinks to Islamic Aid Worldwide. "The problem actually is the hyperlink to a terrorist organisation," he mentioned.

A spokesperson for Islamic Aid Worldwide described it as a "false allegation" that it had tried to problem within the Israeli courts. "Our work in Gaza has been audited by donor governments and world audit corporations, and all have confirmed that our work is solely humanitarian," they added.

In its personal assertion to Canadian media, Islamic Aid Canada CEO Tufail Hussain mentioned: "Claims that our charitable sources help terrorism are baseless and harmful they usually place support employees and the beneficiaries we serve in danger."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/27de/live/42d070d0-db3d-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on the phone" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> EPA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beforehand hit out on the Canadian choice to formally recognise a Palestinian state

Canadian International Affairs Minister Anita Anand confirmed the delegation had been denied entry in a press release on X on Tuesday afternoon.

She added that her ministry "expressed Canada's objections concerning the mistreatment of those Canadians whereas trying to cross".

A unique group of MPs have been permitted to journey on the same journey in 2024, additionally organised by TCMV.

Tensions between the Canadian and Israeli governments have risen in latest months after Canada - alongside the UK, France and different Western nations - formally recognised a Palestinian state in September.

On the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the popularity as "disgraceful".

Earlier this yr, two MPs from the UK's governing Labour Social gathering have been additionally denied entry by Israel after crossing from Jordan throughout a go to organised by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU).

Simon Opher and Peter Prinsley have been travelling in a parliamentary delegation in September to see medical and humanitarian work being carried out by organisations, together with Medical Support for Palestinians.

A spokesperson for the UK International Workplace mentioned on the time that the incident was "completely unacceptable and deeply regarding".

Two different Labour MPs, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, had earlier been denied entry to Israel in April on one other go to organised by the identical organisation.