OTTAWA – Members of a Canadian delegation that was denied entry to the West Bank earlier this month are calling on Ottawa to tighten sanctions targeting new Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
A group that included six Canadian MPs on a mission to meet with displaced Palestinians was turned away at the Allenby border crossing into the West Bank on Dec. 16.
Multiple witnesses from the group say Ontario MP Iqra Khalid was shoved by an Israeli border guard during the confrontation.
Delegation representatives, including members of The Canadian-Muslim Vote, Justice for All Canada and the National Council of Canadian Muslims, are calling on Ottawa to ban imports of any goods produced in the occupied West Bank and prohibit Canadians from buying property in those settlement areas.
They say their request is in response to the Israeli security cabinet’s decision earlier this month to approve 19 new settlements in portions of the West Bank under military occupation — a move Canada has joined its allies in condemning.
The groups say they’re having ongoing conversations with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s office about what happened on Dec. 16 but have yet to meet formally with the minister.
