STATEMENT: JSpaceCanada Welcomes Canadian Restrictions on Trade with Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank and Commitment to Protection of the Two-State Solution.

These measures respond to years of Israeli policies that have expanded settlements, entrenched the occupation, and accelerated de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank. Israel’s current extremist government has crossed almost every red line. As the reality on the ground changes, Israel’s allies must respond accordingly.

Israel’s security concerns are serious and real, shaped by terrorism, threats to its existence, and the brutality of October 7, 2023. But occupation has not delivered security. It has fuelled instability, dispossessed Palestinians, denied them basic rights and freedoms, and pushed a negotiated resolution further out of reach.

Today’s announcement follows years of settlement expansion, settler violence, and a governing coalition explicit about preventing Palestinian sovereignty. At the E1 settlement project, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the plan “finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state,” while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir declared that “no Palestinian state will be established.” Last week, Defense Minister Israel Katz advocated transferring Gaza’s civilian population through what he called “voluntary migration.”

By imposing targeted trade restrictions and sanctions that apply specifically to the occupied West Bank, Canada is affirming both Israel’s sovereignty and right to exist within the Green Line and the right of Palestinians beyond it to sovereignty and self-determination.

For different ideological reasons, both the extreme political left and extreme political right seek to erase the Green Line, in principle and in practice. Those of us who support a secure, Jewish and democratic Israel alongside an independent Palestinian state must reject that erasure and stand with Canada in drawing a clear distinction between the State of Israel and its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

JSpaceCanada remains committed to working with the Canadian government and our partners in the region to advance a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live with security, freedom, dignity, and self-determination.

JSpaceCanada Executive Director Maytal Kowalski said:

“Our goal has never been sanctions or the isolation of Israel. Our goal is for Israeli leaders themselves to reverse the deepening occupation, annexation of the West Bank, and displacement of Palestinians from their homes. Unfortunately, successive Israeli governments have moved in the opposite direction, leaving Israel’s allies with increasingly few options to meaningfully oppose these policies.

“As friends and supporters of Israel, we believe the current actions in the occupied West Bank undermine Israel’s democratic values, violate Palestinian rights, threaten the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution, and contribute to greater instability and insecurity for everyone in the region.

“Our advocacy on this issue has continued for more than three years. We are grateful that the Canadian government has listened to Canadian Jewish voices calling for meaningful action against those who facilitate, incite, or perpetrate violence against Palestinians and those working to entrench an occupation that threatens the future of both peoples.

“Ultimately, success will not be measured by the sanctions imposed, but by whether we can help preserve the possibility of a negotiated political resolution and a future of security, freedom, and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”