Canadian representative to Palestine refers to terrorist as ‘great friend to Canada’

Her comments garnered criticism from many, including Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, who called on other Canadian ministers to condemn Wettlaufer's actions.

"Will you denounce this?" she wrote in a Twitter post, tagging Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

Jewish MPs Ya'ara Saks and Anthony Housefather also expressed their displeasure.

We "vehemently object to Jibril Rajoub being described as friend of Canada," they wrote. "He has been charged with glorifying terrorism, and is guilty of inciting hatred and violence against Israelis by politicizing sport. He does not share our values as Canadians."

According to the American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise's Jewish Virtual Library, Rajoub has a long history of taking part in terrorist activity. In 1970, he was arrested for throwing a grenade at an Israeli army bus, and sentenced to life in prison. After fifteen years, however, he was freed as part of a hostage negotiation deal with Israel.

Over the next two years, he was arrested multiple times for terrorist activity, and eventually deported to Lebanon. He resettled in Tunisia and became an advisor to the Palestinian Authority.

Rajoub returned to the West Bank following the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, and continued to move up the ranks in the Palestinian government. He is also in charge of the Palestinian Olympic committee and the Palestinian Football Federation.

He has been accused on many occasions of using sport to further his political message.

In 2018, for example, he called for the burning of Lionel Messi jerseys to protest a game between Argentina and Israel, which he deemed to be "a political match ... meant to whitewash Israeli racism and fascism."

Wettlaufer, who will soon be replaced by David Da Silva as Representative to the Palestinian Authority, has not commented on the situation, however, this is not the first time she has met with Rajoub.

Throughout her three-year tenure, Wettlaufer sat down with the convicted terrorist numerous times.

In 2020, they discussed "democratic renewal" in Palestine and the ending of divisions between those in the West Bank and Gaza.

Earlier this year, the two sat down for discussions which Wettlaufer described as "insightful" and "forward-looking."