Two members of Congress currently visiting the West Bank said they were concerned about violence by Israeli settlers in the region.
Liberal MPs Salma Zahid and Shafqat Ali are touring the West Bank and Jordan with new Democratic MPs Heather McPherson, Matthew Green and Lindsey Mathiesen. His week-long trip is sponsored by Canadian Muslim Vote, a registered non-profit charity.
Ali said MPs have heard from victims of settler violence since arriving in East Jerusalem earlier this week. This includes Palestinians who have been shot or had their homes burned.
“These events are happening and we’re hearing from a lot of people on the ground about them,” Ali told CBC News on Wednesday.
“I think that needs to be considered. [the] The Israeli government strives to prevent further escalation of violence. ”
The pace of Israeli settlement construction and forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank are both accelerating. accelerated rapidly Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in 2022. Settlers argue that Israel is cultivating land with biblical and historical ties.
Canada, like much of the international community, views Israeli settlements in the West Bank, built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as illegal and seditious.
Zahid said that when he and his colleagues arrived in the West Bank, they noticed that settlements were expanding. She described the settlement as a “gated community.”
“I now understand what Palestinian families have to do now.” [through] “In their daily lives…I could see the challenges that they face every day,” she told CBC News.
Zahid said he had heard from a Palestinian doctor that he had lost a patient to complications at a checkpoint.
“Ambulances cannot enter certain areas, so critically ill patients have to be transferred from one ambulance to another,” she said.
The West Bank has not seen as much media coverage since the October 7 Hamas attack as Gaza, a major conflict area. Hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since then. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The West Bank is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, a political group separate from Hamas, which Canada lists as a terrorist organization. The Palestinian Authority is recognized by the United Nations as the sole governing body representing Palestine.
In December, the Canadian government joined 13 other countries, including the United Kingdom, France and the European Union, in calling on Israel to do more to stop “extremist settler violence” against Palestinians.
The United States and Britain have also imposed travel bans on extremist settlers involved in acts of violence. The NDP called on the Canadian government to follow suit and impose similar sanctions on extremist settlers.
Zahid said he plans to share what he sees and hears with his caucus colleagues when he returns to Ottawa.
CBC News has reached out to the Israeli embassy in Ottawa for comment regarding concerns about violence in the West Bank.
Medical institutions head to Gaza
Both Zahid and Ali expressed concern about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Since the October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has said that approximately 24,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli military operations. It is estimated that
Israeli officials say the military is taking precautions to limit civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip and accuse Hamas of using civilians as “human shields.” Ta.
on Wednesday for Palestinians and dozens of hostages held by Hamas, after France and Qatar brokered the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a week-long ceasefire in November. A shipment of medical supplies was on its way to Gaza.
UN officials have warned that without further aid, Gaza faces widespread hunger and disease. UN officials say a small number of open border crossings, slow vetting processes and continued fighting are hampering the delivery of aid.
Mr Ali and Mr Zahid said the UN’s concerns were echoed by aid groups they met during their visit, many of whom were trying to deliver aid to Gaza.
“The catastrophe in this area is inexplicable, because nothing can go in or out,” Ali said.
Both senators said they believed a ceasefire was necessary to further increase aid to Gaza. Israel and the United States have ruled out a ceasefire until Hamas is disbanded.
Lawmakers met with the Canadian mission during their visit to the West Bank, which they say has made travel through the region somewhat easier.
This is the second visit by a Canadian delegation to the Middle East, the first being on October 7th.
In November, two Liberal and three Conservative MPs visited Israel and met with survivors of the deadly Hamas attacks and families of those killed. The trip was sponsored by the Canadian organization United Jewish Appeal.