Canada promises trade ban on goods from 'illegal' Israeli settlements in new joint statement
Canada says it intends to ban all trade with goods tied to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, joining several European countries in a joint statement promising harsher measures against Israelis the governments say are undermining a two-state solution.
In the statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and her counterparts in the U.K., France, and nine other countries called on Israel’s government to crack down on settler violence in the West Bank. The 12 foreign ministers also specifically criticized an apartment development, called E1, they said would essentially cut the West Bank territory in half.
“We firmly oppose actions tantamount to the annexation of Palestinian land and forcible displacement of the Palestinian people,” they said in Tuesday’s statement.
The territory, seen as a potential part of a future Palestinian state, is controlled by Israel, which refers to it as Judea and Samaria. It is inhabited by hundreds of thousands of Jews and millions of Arabs.
Anand’s statement said Canada intended to join the European countries in introducing a national trade ban on goods tied to “illegal” settlements in the West Bank, though it did not detail when or how that would happen. The United States ambassador to Israel has also recently criticized Israeli violence in the territory after meeting with Palestinian Americans living there.
“The Government of Israel must immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces,” Anand said.
In a separate statement, Carney noted that “in taking this coordinated action, we reiterate our desire for a close and productive partnership with Israel, our enduring support for the Israeli people and our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security. We support a safe and secure Israel, living alongside a safe and secure Palestine.”
The promised trade ban is likely to be largely symbolic, though, with very little trade occurring between Israeli settlements and Canada. Now, Global Affairs Canada must figure out how to implement such a trade ban.
The joint announcement was fiercely rebuked by the Israel’s ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed, who accused signatories of singling out his country and attempting to meddle in upcoming legislative elections.
“Every move of this nature only serves to push intervening nations out of any meaningful regional influence,” Moed said in a statement.
“Furthermore, these unilateral steps actively undermine prospects for peace, directly contribute to a surge in global antisemitism, and ignore the fundamental fact that the Jewish people have a documented historical connection and right to live across the Land of Israel.”
The announcement marks a worsening tone from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government amid deteriorating diplomatic relations between longtime allies.
The British government went a step further than Canada on Tuesday, accusing Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in the Palestinian territories.
“What the Netanyahu government is doing is a stain on the conscience of the world,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a video.
Netanyahu has recently claimed some violence in the territory is instigated by Palestinians and that the Israeli attacks are being committed by just a handful of settlers.
On Tuesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the decision by Britain and other countries was a “grave miscalculation” that would “fall on the wrong side of history.” He also accused the countries of “gross interference” in Israel’s upcoming elections, where much of the ballot question is Netanyahu’s handling of the country’s safety before and since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas.
The CEO of Canada’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) accused the Liberal government of trying to appease the “most extreme elements” of society.
“They make diplomacy harder and do nothing to press the Palestinian Authority to fulfill the commitments it made to Prime Minister Carney, including to fundamentally reform its governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state,” CEO Noah Shack said.
There has been growing pressure from Israel’s diplomatic allies in Europe and Canada to halt growing violence in the West Bank in recent months. Late in August, Canada issued a warning to Canadian businesses about reputational damage if they traded with Israeli counterparts operating in the settlements Canada considers as illegal.
In recent months, media and NGO observers have alleged growing armed violence by Israeli settlers forcibly displacing entire Palestinian villages in the West Bank. Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli Defense Forces have been accused both internationally and domestically for turning a blind eye to the violence.
Canada and a dozen European countries including France and the U.K. also severely criticized Netanyahu’s government’s publication of tenders to build the E1 apartment project in the West Bank. The project would cut across land near Jerusalem and impede chances for a two-state solution between the Palestinians and Israel, the federal government says.
Israel’s embassy in Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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