‘How is it that members of parliament are a public safety concern?’ Canadian MP Jenny Kwan tells media.
A Canadian lawmaker who was denied entry to the occupied West Bank, alongside fellow politicians and civil society leaders, has dismissed Israel’s claims that the delegation posed a threat to public safety.
Jenny Kwan, a Canadian MP with the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), questioned whether Canada’s recognition of an independent Palestinian state earlier this year contributed to Israel’s decision to block the group.
“How is it that members of parliament are a public safety concern?” she said in an interview with media. “How is it that civil society organisations who are doing humanitarian work… [are] a security concern?”
Kwan and five other MPs were among 30 Canadian delegates denied entry to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday after Israel deemed them a risk to public safety.
The delegation, organised by nonprofit group The Canadian-Muslim Vote, was turned back to Jordan at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge crossing, which connects Jordan with the West Bank and is controlled by Israel on the Palestinian side, after an hours-long security check.
Kwan said another female MP in the group was “manhandled” by Israeli border agents while attempting to keep an eye on a delegate who was being taken for additional interrogation.
They were also planning to meet with Jewish families affected by the conflict, said Kwan, who described the three-day trip as a fact-finding mission.
“I reject the notion that that is a public safety concern,” she said of the delegation’s mission.
In an email to media late on Tuesday, Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, said that while it “regrets” the incident, the delegation “was travelling independently and was not representing the Government of Canada”.
“Canada continues to advocate for the easing of movement restrictions into and throughout Palestinian territory,” it said.
“Israel controls access to the West Bank and determines its own entry requirements, including decisions on entry and exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene in these decisions.”
Canada says ‘cannot intervene’
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said earlier on Tuesday that the ministry was in contact with the delegation and had “expressed Canada’s objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians while attempting to cross”.
The Israeli military did not respond to media’s repeated requests for comment.
But the delegates said they had applied for, and received, Israel Electronic Travel Authorization permits before they reached the crossing. Kwan also said the Canadian government informed Israel ahead of time of the delegation’s plans.
“I’m not quite sure exactly what kind of coordination is required,” Kwan told media.
“We followed every step that we’re supposed to follow, so I’m not quite sure exactly what they mean or what they’re referring to.”
Canada, a longstanding supporter of Israel, faced the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it joined several European allies in recognising an independent Palestinian state in September.
“Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats,” Netanyahu said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
The recognition came after months of mass protests in Canada and other Western countries demanding an end to Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people since October 2023.
Rights advocates also called for action to stem a surge in deadly Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Against that backdrop, members of the Canadian delegation questioned whether their entry refusal was part of an Israeli effort to prevent people from witnessing what is happening on the ground in the Palestinian territory.
“‘What are they trying to hide?’ is the question that comes to mind,” Fawad Kalsi, the CEO of the relief group Penny Appeal Canada and one of the delegates, told media on Tuesday.
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