OTTAWA — Canada has taken the rare step of not signing onto a multi-country statement that demands Israel stop banning foreign journalists from entering Gaza and that local journalists be protected in the Palestinian territories.

Canada co-founded the Media Freedom Coalition in 2020 and has signed dozens of statements on issues in Hong Kong, Sudan and previously the West Bank.

But Ottawa is not among the 27 countries singing a call for Israel to allow “independent foreign media access” into Gaza, and for journalists to be protect across Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The only other time Canada did not sign a multi-country statement from the coalition was during the 2021 election campaign, and Global Affairs Canada did not have an immediate response when asked why it’s not part

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