Israel blocks Canadian delegation from visiting occupied West Bank

Israel on Tuesday prevented a special Canadian delegation of six members of parliament from entering the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli embassy in Canada said the delegation was denied entry due to its connection with the Islamic Relief Worldwide organisation.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand posted on X that Canada had expressed “objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians while attempting to cross.”

Ontario MP Iqra Khalid, a member of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party, said she was part of the delegation and was pushed several times by Israeli border officials.   

She explained that she was pushed back into the wall while trying to check on one of the roughly 30 delegation members who had been taken aside for further questioning after arriving at the Allenby crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khalid said the border officials recognised her as a parliament member and took her special passport, which looks different from standard Canadian travel documents.

The delegation had planned to meet displaced Palestinians in the West Bank, where the Israeli government recently approved the construction of 764 new homes in Jewish settlements.

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