Israel Accuses Ottawa of Fuelling Antisemitism After Canada Sanctions More West Bank Settlers

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Ottawa’s latest sanctions on West Bank settlers have opened a sharper diplomatic rift with Israel, turning a targeted foreign-policy move into a broader fight over violence, accountability and antisemitism. Canada says the measures are aimed at people and organizations accused of enabling extremist settler attacks against Palestinian civilians. Israel says the move unfairly targets Israelis and helps inflame hostility toward Jews at a time when antisemitism is already rising in Canada and other Western countries.

The clash comes at a volatile moment. The West Bank has seen worsening settler violence, Canada has tightened its sanctions regime over the past two years, and Jewish communities in Canada are facing a documented surge in hate crimes. That overlap has made the dispute unusually sensitive: Ottawa is trying to separate criticism of Israeli government policy from hatred of Jewish people, while Israel argues the line is being blurred.

Ottawa’s New Sanctions Go After People, Companies and Outposts

Canada’s latest move is not a broad embargo against Israel. It is a targeted sanctions package aimed at two individuals and five entities that Ottawa says have helped facilitate, fund, support or contribute to violence by extremist settlers against Palestinian civilians or their property in the West Bank. The newly listed individuals are Harel David Libi, described by Canada as the owner of Libi Construction and Infrastructure Ltd., and Eliav Libi, described as a director of the same company.

The entities listed by Canada include Regavim, Coco’s Farm, Micha’s Farm, Libi Construction and Infrastructure Ltd., and Nachala. For Canadians, the impact is practical: people and businesses in Canada are prohibited from dealing in the property of listed persons, entering into transactions with them, providing financial services to them, or making goods available to them. Canada says the measures also make listed individuals inadmissible to the country. For Ottawa, this is meant to show consequences without cutting off relations with Israel as a state.

Israel’s Response Turns the Dispute Toward Antisemitism

Israel’s foreign ministry responded sharply, rejecting what it called “disgraceful measures” against Israeli citizens, entities and a government minister. The ministry argued that the countries imposing sanctions were failing to confront antisemitism at home and that anti-Israel policies of this kind “only serve to fuel that antisemitism.” The statement turned Canada’s sanctions announcement into a dispute not just about the West Bank, but about whether Western governments are helping normalize hostility toward Israel in ways that spill over onto Jewish communities.

That argument lands in a country where antisemitism is already a major political issue. Canadian Jewish schools, synagogues and community institutions have faced heightened security concerns, and federal leaders have openly acknowledged that Jewish Canadians are being targeted. The danger for Ottawa is that even targeted sanctions can be heard differently by different audiences. Human rights groups may see overdue accountability; Israeli officials may see foreign punishment of Israelis; Jewish communities may worry that heated language around Israel can create a permissive atmosphere for hate.

Why the West Bank Has Become the Pressure Point

The West Bank has become one of the most contested fronts in Canada’s Middle East policy because it combines legal, humanitarian and diplomatic issues in one place. Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and other territories in the 1967 war. Since then, Israeli settlements have grown across land Palestinians seek for a future state. Canada’s longstanding position is that it does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967 and that settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention.

For Palestinians living near outposts, the issue is not abstract. Settler violence can mean blocked roads, damaged farmland, intimidation, property destruction and displacement from communities that have already lived for years under military occupation. For Israelis, especially those who believe Jews have a historic and religious claim to the land, foreign sanctions can feel like a challenge to national identity and security. That is why a narrow sanctions list can produce an outsized diplomatic reaction: the West Bank is where competing histories, legal claims and daily insecurity collide.

The Numbers Behind Ottawa’s Argument

Canada’s decision rests heavily on the claim that settler violence has reached a level that threatens both Palestinian civilians and the possibility of a two-state solution. Global Affairs Canada said the United Nations reported at least 1,800 attacks by extremist settlers against Palestinians in 2025, which Ottawa described as the most violent year on record. Canada also says extremist settler violence is driving forced displacement and making the West Bank less stable for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

That framing matters because Ottawa is trying to justify sanctions as a security tool, not simply a political statement. Canada has used sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act in many contexts, and this regime is designed to freeze dealings with listed individuals and organizations. The goal is to disrupt networks that allegedly enable violence, including groups or businesses accused of providing support. Whether those measures actually reduce attacks is harder to prove, but sanctions are often used to signal that impunity has costs.

The Legal Case Canada Is Leaning On

Canada’s position is rooted in a familiar international-law argument: the Fourth Geneva Convention applies in occupied territories, and Israeli settlements in those territories are considered by Canada to be a violation of that convention. Ottawa has repeated that position across multiple governments, even as it continues to support Israel’s right to security and condemn Hamas’s October 7 attacks. That dual position is central to how Canada presents its policy: opposing settlement expansion while still maintaining support for Israeli security.

The legal language also shapes the sanctions. Canada is not saying every Israeli citizen in the West Bank is personally responsible for violence. It is targeting specific people and organizations that officials say are connected to extremist settler activity. That distinction is politically important, but it does not remove the controversy. Israel disputes much of the international consensus around settlements and argues that Jews have a right to live in the land it calls Judea and Samaria. Canada, meanwhile, argues that permanent occupation and settlement expansion undermine peace.

Ottawa Faces a Domestic Antisemitism Test at the Same Time

The Israeli accusation is especially potent because Canada is dealing with a real and measurable antisemitism problem. Statistics Canada reported 4,882 police-reported hate crimes in 2024, a slight increase from 2023 and part of a six-year rise. Hate crimes targeting religion were relatively stable in 2024, but Jewish Canadians were the target of 70 per cent of religion-based hate crimes. Separate Statistics Canada chart data counted 920 police-reported hate crimes targeting Jewish people in 2024.

Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the issue directly in a June speech at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, saying antisemitism had surged to levels not seen in the postwar period. The federal government has also announced new measures related to hate crime, community security and antisemitism, including additional security funding for faith-based institutions. This creates a difficult balancing act: Ottawa wants to sanction extremist settler violence without giving oxygen to antisemitic rhetoric, and it must communicate that criticism of Israeli policy is not a licence to target Jewish Canadians.

A Coordinated Western Move, Not Just a Canadian One

Canada did not act alone. The sanctions were announced alongside a wider Western push involving countries such as Australia, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, with other allies also moving against settler violence and related networks. The joint statement from several foreign ministers said violent settlers had been able to act with near impunity and called on Israel to ensure accountability. It also warned that further action could follow if conditions on the ground do not improve.

The coordinated nature of the move is part of the message. Western governments are increasingly willing to separate support for Israel’s security from opposition to settlement expansion and settler violence. France has taken steps involving Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, while Britain has targeted financial networks and entities connected to settlement activity. Canada’s role is narrower but still symbolically important. Ottawa is signaling that it wants to remain aligned with allies on human rights and international law, even when that creates friction with Israel.

What the Sanctions Actually Do—and What They Don’t

Canada’s sanctions are designed to restrict financial and commercial dealings with listed individuals and entities. They prohibit Canadians from dealing with property owned or controlled by listed persons, facilitating related transactions, providing financial services, or making goods available to them. Listed individuals are also barred from entering Canada. These tools can make it harder for designated people or groups to move money, access services or maintain international ties.

At the same time, these are not sweeping trade sanctions against Israel. They do not end Canada-Israel diplomatic relations, they do not ban all settlement-related imports, and they do not represent a full economic break. That distinction may frustrate critics who want stronger action, while still angering Israeli officials who see the sanctions as politically motivated. In practical terms, the measures are limited. In diplomatic terms, they are loud. Sanctions often work as much through stigma and signaling as through direct economic damage.

The E1 Settlement Issue Raises the Stakes

One reason allies are moving now is concern over settlement expansion, including the long-debated E1 area east of Jerusalem. Critics of the E1 project argue that development there could make a contiguous Palestinian state much harder to achieve by fragmenting the West Bank and separating it from East Jerusalem. Israeli officials who support the project frame it as part of strengthening Israeli control and sovereignty in strategically important territory.

For Canada and its partners, E1 has become shorthand for a larger fear: that settlement growth is steadily closing the window for a two-state solution. The sanctions are therefore not just about past incidents of violence; they are also about trying to deter networks that support expansion and displacement. That is why the dispute has moved beyond individual settlers. It now touches cabinet ministers, construction firms, advocacy organizations, outposts and the broader machinery that shapes facts on the ground.

The Bigger Challenge for Canada

Canada’s task now is to keep two principles from collapsing into each other. The first is that antisemitism is real, rising and dangerous, and Jewish Canadians deserve protection without qualification. The second is that criticism of Israeli government policy, including settlement expansion and settler violence, can be legitimate when grounded in facts and law. If Ottawa fails to state both clearly, it risks losing trust on all sides.

The next phase will likely depend on whether violence in the West Bank worsens, whether Israel takes visible accountability measures, and whether Canada’s allies continue expanding sanctions. Ottawa’s move may not change conditions on the ground immediately, but it does mark a harder Canadian line. Israel’s accusation ensures the debate will not stay confined to foreign policy. It will also test how Canada talks about Jewish safety, Palestinian rights and the difference between opposing a government policy and fuelling hatred against a people.

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