A glimpse of Palestinian life under occupation strengthens resolve of some MPs to push for Gaza ceasefire

CTV National News: Canadian MPs in Middle East As Judy Trinh reports, a delegation of Canadian MPs arrived in the Middle East for discussions on how to advance peace in the region.

A Canadian delegation of parliamentarians and advocates is returning from a fact-finding mission in the West Bank with a better understanding of the plight of Palestinians living under occupation and the rising tensions with Israelis as the war on Hamas wages on beyond 100 days.

During the six-day trip, the delegates met with Palestinian refugees, aid workers, Canadian consular officials and Jewish peace activists. The goal of their trip was to get insight from people in the region about what Canada can do to advance peace and security in the region when the war in Gaza ends.

“I'm seized with just how difficult life is for Palestinians. And I'm seized with how much grief there is for Israelis and Palestinians right now, as they grapple with what is happening in Gaza,” said NDP Member of Parliament, Heather McPherson in a Zoom interview during the trip. She is one of five MPs on the trip, which included two Liberals and three New Democrats.

Their trip began in Jordan and took them into East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

In Amman, the group met with Canada’s ambassador to Jordan and visited a United Nations refugee camp and school.

Scarborough Liberal MP Salma Zahid said she was moved by the concerns of Palestinian teenagers she encountered who desperately hoped for a better future.

“They are really concerned about the killing of the innocent children in Gaza and the fact that the children in Gaza haven't been able to go to school,” said Zahid.

”They told me that books are being used as fuel to cook food for many families - that’s going to stick with me for a long time.”

Checkpoints and control

The life Palestinians live while under Israeli control immediately came into focus for the delegates as they crossed from Jordan into the occupied Palestinian territory. Traffic was snarled at the border, and the group was forced to go through multiple police checkpoints.

“It’s a very tense environment,” said Usama Khan, the CEO of Islamic Relief Canada, who was part of the 20-person delegation. Khan says their 100-kilometre journey from Amman to Jerusalem took more than four hours.

“They were stopping all the cars and ensuring that everyone had their IDs. There are fears for safety because of settler violence.”

The trip was organized by Canadian Muslim Vote, a non-partisan organization that aims to increase civic engagement within the community. Organizers say invitations were extended to representatives of all parties, but only some expressed interest in the trip.

In November, three Conservative MPs and two Liberals travelled to Israel to show “solidarity” with Israelis whose families were killed on Oct. 7 by Hamas. That trip was sponsored by United Jewish Appeal. On its website, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto describes one of its priorities as “standing up for the Jewish homeland.”

Approximately 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 others taken hostage in the surprise attacks by militants on border communities and at a concert. Canada has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Hearing from Israeli victims

McPherson says one of the most emotional moments for her was meeting with the families and friends of Hamas victims, including some who knew Vivian Silver, the Winnipeg peace activist. She says those conversations highlighted the deep pain that is prevalent in the region.

“One of the Israelis spoke about how his mentor, somebody he had grown up with and worked with, was killed on October 7. That somebody had encouraged him to join the peace movement.”

Although those conversations revealed rifts, McPherson says some of those Jewish voices called on Canada to “do more to put pressure on Israel to align with international law” in Gaza.

According to the Gaza Health Authority, which is operated by Hamas, more than 24,000 Palestinians have died since bombardments began. More than 60,000 people are injured — many more victims are trapped under rubble. The White House says it doesn’t dispute those numbers.

Most of the enclave, which is half the size of Toronto, has been destroyed. The United Nations says the war has triggered a famine and more than two million people are at risk of starvation and disease. The majority of the population has fled from the north to southern Gaza, crowded into fewer areas that designated safe from Israeli air and artillery strikes.

So close, yet so far

Gaza is approximately 80 km from East Jerusalem where the delegation visited Al Makassed Hospital. The facility treats Palestinian patients in the West Bank.

In their visit to Makassed, Khan said doctors recounted frustration at being unable to help their fellow Palestinians trapped in the war zone.

“People feel helpless in Jerusalem that they can't do anything for people who don't have food and water. They're so close yet so far.”

Hospital staff recounted to the delegation how they tried to help save 39 premature babies in Gaza. In November, the largest hospital in the enclave, Al-Shifa, collapsed from a lack of power, oxygen and water. The Israeli military claimed there was a Hamas command centre underneath the facility.

After Al-Shifa was attacked, medical workers could no longer provide critical care for the tiny lives who were being kept alive in incubators.

Al Makassed Hospital had capacity and offered to care for the infants, but it was not granted permission by the Israeli government to take the babies.

It would take a week before the babies were evacuated by United Nations staff and the Palestine Red Crescent Society and taken to a hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza. The infants were transferred without their parents and, according to the World Health Organization, eight infants died waiting for a rescue.

Later as the south came under more bombardments the surviving babies were moved to Egypt for continuing care.

“There is no freedom of movement and it’s been going on for decades,” says Khan “That’s the level of frustration that exists here. Life and death are always in a balance.”

But Khan said he did see glimmers of hope. Some of the best doctors at Al Makassed were trained in Canada through fellowships sponsored by Islamic Relief Canada. For Khan that shows that Canadians can make a difference in the lives of Palestinians.

The three delegates CTV News spoke with say their experience has strengthened their resolve. When they return to Canada they says will continue advocating for a ceasefire, knowing that a path forward can’t be traveled until the bombs stop falling.