Canada sanctions more ‘extremist’ West Bank settlers

Canada is imposing another round of sanctions on Israelis accused of “extremist settler violence” in the West Bank, two years after listing four settlers.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, which is separate from the Gaza Strip, since 1967, and settlers there have been building communities that Canada and many other countries say violate international law.

The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel prompted Israel to bombard Gaza and tighten restrictions in the West Bank, where the United Nations has tracked a large increase in settler attacks on Palestinians.

In its fifth round of sanctions on Israeli settlers, Canada is listing two people associated with construction of settlements and five companies involved in setting up farms and other sites.

They include people and organizations that the U.K. and New Zealand have accused of attacking Palestinians.

Canada says the sanctions are aimed at maintaining the prospect of a two-state solution, which the current Israeli government has rejected.

By Dylan Robertson