Press Release: Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

(Ontario, Sept. 1, 2009) - Canadians visiting the Israeli-occupied West Bank over the last few months have been met by an unwelcome surprise at the border. Israeli officials have recently begun issuing a new and onerous type of entrance visa to international visitors with family or business in the West Bank. The new visas restrict travel to Palestinian areas only and often limit visitors' length of stay to one month. Meanwhile, other international visitors to Israel are allowed a three month stay, and may travel within Israel proper freely.

While Israeli officials have refused to comment on the new travel restrictions, Canadians visiting the West Bank have been voicing their concerns. For Khaled Sabawi, a Waterloo, Ontario resident who heads MENA Geothermal, a West Bank based renewable energy company, the travel restrictions have made an already challenging business environment even more so. Sabawi says that to date the restrictions have prevented him from meeting potential partners and suppliers based in Israel, and have even prevented him from visiting his own company headquarters in Ramallah. According to Sabawi, Israeli officials, who at one point denied him entry into the West Bank, told him he spent "too much time in Israel."

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) seriously objects to these selectively discriminatory travel restrictions targeting Canadians that have business or family in the West Bank. While U.S. State department officials have called the travel restrictions "unacceptable," and insisted that "U.S. citizens should be treated equally regardless of their national origin," the Canadian government has yet to weigh in on the new restrictions. "If Israel continues to impose these arbitrary travel restrictions on Canadians visiting the West Bank, the Canadian government must respond to safeguard the value of our citizenship," said CJPME President, Tom Woodley. "We can not allow foreign states to discriminate between our citizens based on their place of birth, ethnic origin, where their family resides, or where they choose to conduct their legitimate business."

So long as Israel continues to occupy the West Bank, it must take full responsibility for its economic and social development. "Promising entrepreneurs like Mr. Sabawi should be receiving support from Israeli officials instead of being hindered by arbitrary and discriminatory travel restrictions" added Woodley. "If the Israeli Prime minister is interested in an economic peace, as he has stated, then why prevent the very people that can bring about economic development from even reaching the West Bank?" concluded Woodley.

- Grace Batchoun
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East