Four Israeli settlers in the West Bank are now targeted by Canadian sanctions, joining on Thursday a list of unsavory individuals linked to Russia, Iran and Hamas.
“The recent attacks by extremist Israeli settlers have experienced an alarming escalation,” specifies the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, in a publication on.
For the first time on Thursday, his government imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers under the Special Economic Measures Act. David Chai Chasdai, Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef and Moshe Sharvit are accused of violence which resulted in a “serious attack on international peace and security”. These individuals are already under American or British sanctions.
“Attacks by extremist Israeli settlers – a long-standing source of tension and conflict in the region – have increased alarmingly in recent months,” explains the press release from Canadian diplomacy.
A United Nations report is cited to claim that at least 800 attacks have been carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians since the Hamas offensive on October 7. Verbal and physical attacks, murders, or acts of destruction of property “have led to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities and contributed concretely to the increase in regional insecurity,” we read.
The Canadian government considers that these actions compromise the “2-state solution”, i.e. the creation of a Palestinian state cohabiting peacefully with Israel. Under the decree that came into force Thursday, Israeli settlers targeted by the new sanctions can no longer do business with Canadian banks, for example.
Canada recently abstained from a vote at the UN General Assembly to make Palestine a full member, but argued that failure to oppose the resolution was in itself a evolution of its position, traditionally stuck to the interests of Israel.
At the same time, Canada criticized the behavior of the Netanyahu government in Israel for not subscribing to the 2-state solution. Minister Mélanie Joly is currently abroad, on a tour of countries that voted in favor of the inclusion of Palestine in the UN: Cyprus, Greece and Lebanon.
Last week, Canada announced sanctions against three Iranian officials, and a person linked to Palestinian Hamas, for strengthening the organization’s terrorist capabilities.