Forty-eight hours after the Islamic Jihad terror attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach, a Canadian delegation including six MPs was blocked from entering the West Bank.
The Israeli embassy in Ottawa says the delegation was denied entry due to an alleged financial link to an aid organization designated by Israel as a terror entity.
In a statement to the Toronto Star, spokesperson Yifah Mivtach Greenvald said the trip organizer, The Canadian-Muslim Vote, receives most of its funding from Islamic Relief Canada, a subsidiary of Islamic Relief Worldwide, which Israel lists as a terrorist organization.
It is reported the group refused to sign a document acknowledging themselves as "a threat to public safety."
Are there other issues at play?
Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated Canada would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he entered the country to comply with an International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict.
Canada has experienced a rise in antisemitic assaults and attacks since the Gaza conflict started. Toronto recorded a 93-to-211-per-cent surge in reported hate crimes post-Oct. 7, with antisemitic incidents comprising more than half in many periods (56 per cent in early 2024). Montreal reported dozens of attacks on Jewish institutions, including gunfire and firebombing.
Canada is seen by the Jewish community, and some analysts, as soft on terror—allowing protesters brandishing terrorist flags to march unabated on Canadian streets and universities.
The failed delegation had received electronic travel authorizations but was turned back at the Allenby crossing from Jordan, according to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).
NCCM CEO Stephen Brown called the decision “deeply troubling,” saying it fits a pattern of restricting access for those seeking to witness conditions in the occupied territories, as reported by CBC News and Global News.
Israel’s COGAT agency cited security reasons for the denial, according to multiple reports.
Canada does not list Islamic Relief as a terrorist group and has previously supported its humanitarian work.