JSpaceCanada welcomes today’s announcement from the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, of a second round of sanctions on seven individuals and five entities for their role in facilitating, supporting, or financially contributing to acts of violence against Palestinian civilians and their property in the occupied West Bank.

JSpaceCanada Executive Director, Maytal Kowalski said, “We have been advocating for sanctions on settlers and entities that commit acts of violence in the occupied West Bank for some time now because we understand, as friends and supporters of Israel, that the violent nature of the settlement enterprise risks prospects for a two-state solution, violates the rights of Palestinians, and contributes to overall insecurity in the region.

“We welcomed the initial round of sanctions announced by the Canadian government last month and encouraged further sanctions, including on entities contributing to settler violence. We are therefore heartened to see these additional sanctions announced today, and thank the minister and the Liberal government for listening to the voices of Canadian Jews who wish to see an end to the bloodshed and violence in the region.”

We continue to emphasize, now more than ever, that a political, not military solution is needed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and ask the Canadian government to be an active ally to both parties in working toward a two-state solution.