A small delegation of Conservative and Liberal MPs are heading to Israel Monday night.
The five MPs and one former Liberal senator were invited by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to visit the war zone. They may visit Sderot or Be’er Sheva, towns shelled by Hamas rockets. But they will not visit Gaza.
“It will all depend on the security situation on the ground Wednesday,” said CIJA’s David Cooper, who will be travelling with them. “We’re not going to go anywhere [in Israel] that is not deemed safe.”
Cooper said he felt it was important for the MPs “to get a real sense of what’s going on, to hear voices from real people who are either making decisions about what is going on or who are impacted by the actual conflict.”
The delegation includes: Conservative MPs David Sweet, Ted Opitz, Randy Hoback; Liberal MPs Carolyn Bennett and John McCallum and senator Grant Mitchell.
The non-partisan Jewish advocacy group extended an invitation to the NDP as well but “they weren’t able to get anyone.”