OTTAWA — Five members of Parliament are in the Middle East to hear from Palestinians about how Canada can best push for peace and human rights in the region.

The group Canadian-Muslim Vote is paying for the Liberal and NDP MPs to visit the region for six days, alongside humanitarian groups.

The delegation is currently in Jordan and will also visit the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel that has seen an uptick in violence.

In November, Canadian Jewish organizations sponsored a visit to Israel by Liberal and Conservative MPs to hear about impact of the brutal Hamas attack in October.

Muslim groups are urging Ottawa to do more about violence in the West Bank, where extremist settlers living in Israeli settlements that Canada deems illegal have taken up arms.

The United Nations says there has been an unprecedented rise in violence in the West Bank since Israel started its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press