After US, Canada issues its first sanctions against Israeli settlers

Four accused of instigating riots in Palestinian towns and of involvement in deaths of Palestinian civilians have been penalized

Canada announced Thursday for the first time sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of committing acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The United Kingdom, France, the European Union and the United States have taken similar measures in recent months.

“The rise in violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank is deeply troubling and poses significant risks to peace and security in the region,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in the statement.

“With these measures, we are sending a clear message that acts of extremist settler violence are unacceptable and that perpetrators of such violence will face consequences.”

The sanctions include a ban on transactions with the settlers and on their entry into Canada.

Among those targeted is David Chai Chasdai, accused of instigating a riot in the Palestinian town of Huwara, south of Nablus, leading to the death of a Palestinian civilian.

Moshe Sharvit (left) who runs the Emek Tirzah Farm illegal outpost in the West Bank and was sanctioned by the US in March for violent activity against local Palestinians, is visited by Religious Zionism MK Tzvi Succot (right) and chairman of the Jordan Valley Regional Council David Elhayani (center) at the outpost, February 15, 2024. (Courtesy: Office of MK Tzvi Succot)

Three others, Zvi Bar Yosef, Moshe Sharvit and Yinon Levi, also face US sanctions and are accused of repeatedly harassing, assaulting and threatening local Palestinians.

Israel has maintained control over areas of the West Bank, home to three million Palestinians, since 1967 and around 490,000 Israeli settlers live there in communities considered illegal under international law.

Settler violence in the West Bank was already at a more than 15-year high in 2023 and surged further after the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.

At least 491 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the West Bank, Palestinian authorities say, since Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, most in violent clashes with Israeli troops, but a few were shot dead by settlers during altercations.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,700 affiliated with Hamas.