For live updates and responses regarding this story, please visit this page.
On Tuesday morning, a group of 30 Canadians, which included six Members of Parliament, was prevented from entering the West Bank.
According to a statement from COGAT, Israel’s coordinator of government activities in the territories, which oversees civilian authorities and border crossings in the West Bank, the denial of entry was attributed to “security reasons.”
“Earlier today, several foreign nationals arrived at the Allenby border crossing without prior coordination,” the COGAT announcement indicated.
“Following security assessments conducted in collaboration with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Population and Immigration Authority, their entry into the Judea and Samaria region was rejected.”
Photo illustration shows MPs on the trip. From top left: Liberal MP Gurbux Saini, Liberal MP Fares Al Soud and Liberal MP Iqra Khalid. From bottom left: Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi, NDP MP Jenny Kwan and Liberal MP Aslam Rana. (From top left: Gurbux Saini/Facebook, faresalsoud.libparl.ca, Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press; Bottom L-R: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press, Christian Patry/CBC, Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
A representative for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), which included members of the delegation, informed CBC News that each member was required to sign a document stating they posed a threat to public safety before being granted access to the territory.
However, Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi, who was among those barred from entering the West Bank through the Allenby crossing from Jordan, later clarified to CBC News that the NCCM misrepresented the events at the border.
“For those who received the form — it states that entry was denied due to concerns regarding public order or safety,” Zuberi shared with CBC’s Power & Politics.
“Signing the form would not have permitted entry. It was merely a notification of the reasons provided,” he explained to host David Cochrane. “What has been reported by the NCCM is not accurate.”
Jenny Kwan, the NDP MP representing Vancouver-East, was among the six MPs denied access to the occupied West Bank on Tuesday by the Israeli authorities, citing ‘government, public security, public safety, or public order considerations.’ Kwan objected to the rationale behind the entry refusal, labeling it as ‘entirely unacceptable.’ CORRECTION (Dec. 16, 2025): A prior version of this video incorrectly stated that delegates were refused entry after they declined to sign a form indicating they were public safety risks. In reality, the form merely states that the entry denial is based on ‘public security, public safety, or public order considerations’ and requests that the individual seeking entry acknowledge with a signature that the decision was communicated to them. We have edited this video accordingly.
The delegation was part of a trip organized by a registered Canadian charity, The Canadian-Muslim Vote.
The other parliamentarians accompanying the trip were Liberal MPs Fares Al Soud, Aslam Rana, Iqra Khalid, Gurbux Saini, as well as NDP MP Jenny Kwan.
The MPs had intended to engage with civil society organizations, Palestinian refugees, and internally displaced individuals, in addition to meeting officials from both the Canadian government and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
These meetings were scheduled to take place in various locations, including Jerusalem, Jenin, Hebron, and several refugee camps, as per the NCCM statement.
The statement further mentioned that the members of the delegation are safe and are currently returning to Jordan, with plans to head back to Canada after a series of meetings.
A deteriorating relationship
Last week, Kwan expressed to CBC News her concerns that they might face entry denial owing to the deteriorating relations between the Canadian government and Israel over the past two years.
This trip occurs nearly three months after the Canadian government officially acknowledged a Palestinian state, right before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, a symbolic move that nonetheless provoked displeasure from Israel.
“Israel will not allow you to impose a terror state upon us,” Netanyahu declared to the UNGA a week following Canada’s announcement, while also criticizing other Western nations that had opted for recognition, including France and the United Kingdom.
-
Israel approves hundreds of housing units in 3 settlements in the occupied West Bank
-
Gaza aid deliveries falling short of ceasefire terms: AP analysis
-
Israel’s Netanyahu says he will meet Trump, second phase of Gaza plan ‘close’
In January 2024, a similar group of Liberal and NDP MPs successfully entered Israel and visited displaced Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
CBC News had reached out to the Israeli government for comments regarding the planned visit on Monday. At that time, spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian indicated she had no information to provide.