Five Canadian members of parliament are scheduled to begin a week-long visit to Jordan and the West Bank today to meet with Palestinian refugees and Israeli progressive groups.
The delegation that arrived in Jordan’s capital Amman included Liberal MPs Salma Zahid and Shafqat Ali, new Democratic MPs Heather McPherson (the party’s foreign affairs commentator), Matthew Green, and Lindsay Lindsey. This includes Congressman Matthiessen.
“What we’ve seen in the last three months is that this is a humanitarian crisis, and the situation in the West Bank is also worsening,” Zahid, chairman of the Canada-Palestinian Parliamentary Friendship League, told CBC News in front of MPs. It means that we are doing well,” he said. ‘ departure.
“I think it’s really good to be there and meet and talk to some of the families that have been affected.”
This trip is a sponsored trip paid for by Muslim Vote Canada, a registered not-for-profit Muslim charity.
In October, Zahid spearheaded a cross-party effort to get MPs to sign a letter calling on the Canadian government to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
Twenty-two other Liberal MPs also initially signed the letter, which was the first sign of a rift in the government caucus over Canada’s position on the war.
Canada voted in favor of a ceasefire at the United Nations General Assembly in December, days after CBC News reported that a group representing Muslim donors had dropped out of the Liberal Party of Canada’s top donor ranks. .
“I think it’s important for Canada to be known as a peacemaker and a peacebuilder. So Canada should strongly advocate for a ceasefire in the region to ensure that the killing of innocent Palestinians ends.” ” Zahid said.
“The region is in turmoil and Canada needs to work with our allies to play a role,” Macpherson said.
“I think what we’ll be able to do on this trip… is talk to some authorities because we’re on the ground. We’re going to talk to progressive Israeli organizations that seek peace.”
A preliminary itinerary the group released to CBC News includes visits to refugee camps, as well as stops in Jordan and Ramallah in the central West Bank to speak with “affected” Palestinian communities. There is.
The West Bank has not received as much media coverage as Gaza, the main theater of the conflict, since Hamas launched an attack on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking 240 hostages. do not have.
Since then, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry estimates that Israel has killed around 23,000 Palestinians in retaliatory military operations.
The Canadian government has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Canada has a diplomatic presence in the West Bank, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority is a separate political entity recognized by the United Nations as the sole governing body representing Palestine.
Israel announced on Friday that it had killed three Palestinian men who invaded a settlement in the West Bank.
Reuters reported that since October 7, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank and arrested thousands.
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 also imposed travel bans on extremist settlers involved in acts of violence.
Ali, the Liberal MP for Brampton Center, and Mathiesen, the NDP MP for London Fanshawe, said they have heard from constituents who are alarmed by the humanitarian crisis on the ground.
Ali said: “I want to meet with people from non-governmental organizations working on the ground to gain knowledge and perspectives on how we can help Palestinians rebuild their basic lives. I want to see it for myself. If you do, you will be able to speak more clearly.” . ”
Matthiessen said she planned to “listen, see for myself what is happening on the ground and meet with key organizations providing humanitarian aid.”
Parliamentarians visit the Middle East for the second time since the outbreak of conflict
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.
At the time, Canadian Muslims and the National Council of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East suggested that it would have been fair for these MPs to also meet with the Palestinians.
Lawmakers who visited the West Bank this week said they were not worried about appearing unilateral.
“I’m going to the area [a] He was a member of Parliament and chair of the Canada-Palestinian Parliamentary Friendship League. I think it’s really very important to visit this area,” Zahid said.
“It’s very important to me that I’m hearing from Jewish organizations and that I’m able to meet with Jewish representatives for peace and talk about their calls for peace,” McPherson said.