On Sunday, the Israeli security cabinet approved a series of policy changes that represent a significant effort to entrench and expand Israel’s permanent presence and control across the occupied West Bank.
These measures will make a future diplomatic resolution with the Palestinians, and the prospect of further regional integration for Israel, far more difficult. They also empower the Israeli government to demolish homes and structures within Palestinian cities in areas previously under Palestinian governance.
Our recent survey of Canadian Jews, published in January 2026, found that a majority (52%) support the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, known as the two-state solution. In addition, 51% agreed with the statement, “I support Israeli security, but I oppose settlements as a violation of international law, which also makes the two-state solution impossible.”
These actions by the Israeli government are therefore opposed not only by the international community, but also by the majority of Canadian Jewry, a population that overwhelmingly supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and feels a deep emotional connection to the country.
While the Israeli government claims these moves are intended to reduce bureaucratic red tape, their practical effect is to erase the distinction between Israel within the Green Line and the occupied West Bank, treating the entire territory as sovereign Israeli land.
Facilitating Israeli purchases of Palestinian land, transferring Palestinian municipal and planning authorities to Israeli bodies, and removing land registry restrictions constitute a deepening and accelerating process of de facto annexation. Extending these policies into Areas A and B further undermines separation and renders a two-state solution increasingly unattainable, defaulting instead to a one-state reality.
“We have long called on the Canadian government to take stronger steps to curb de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank, consistent with our shared commitment to a two-state solution,” said JSpaceCanada Executive Director Maytal Kowalski. “The one-state reality now being created by the Israeli government is anti-democratic, illiberal, and apartheid-like. This is not a reality we should support or claim to share values with — not as Jews, and not as Canadians.”
JSpaceCanada continues to urge the Canadian government to take further measures to curb de facto annexation, including: banning imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories; maintaining and expanding sanctions against entities that build and support illegal and violent outposts and herding farms; individuals who enable or support settler violence; Israeli private contractors who carry out demolitions in Area C; and senior officials involved in settlement administration. We further call on the government to ensure that all agreements align with Canadian law and values, including the Export and Import Permits Act, and that arms sales meet Israel’s legitimate security needs without enabling actions that undermine security, violate Palestinian rights, contravene international law, or conflict with Canada’s values and interests.