Montreal, September 2, 2025 — In response to the threat of Israel’s imminent annexation of the occupied West Bank, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to finally cancel the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) and prohibit all trade with illegal Israeli settlements. CJPME reiterates that CIFTA violates international law by treating the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) as if it were already annexed to Israel, and urges decisive action to prevent further colonial expansion.
“For years, the Israeli government has been quietly taking steps to annex Palestinian territory. Instead of pushing back against this threat, Canada’s free trade deal with Israel has actively contributed to this problem by providing material incentives for colonial expansion,” said Michael Bueckert, Acting President of CJPME. “The economic complicity must end here. Canada must act decisively to align Canadian trade policy with international law and stop allowing Canadian businesses to profit from illegal occupation and apartheid. We must cancel CIFTA now.”
Since it was first debated in 1996, human rights activists have warned that CIFTA would encourage Israel’s expansionist goals in occupied Palestine. Two years ago, CJPME issued a report titled “Annexing Palestine Through Trade,” which demonstrated how CIFTA has been treating all trade with the OPT as if it were “Israeli,” thus violating international law and rewarding Israel’s illegal settlement activity. The report also exposed how CIFTA has undermined Palestinian rights and livelihoods by upholding the occupation, while providing extremely marginal economic benefit through Canada-Palestine trade.
More recently, CJPME has warned the government that CIFTA violates the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was issued in July of last year. In that opinion, the ICJ found that states are obliged to “abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the [OPT] or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory,” and “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the [OPT].” Despite occasionally expressing support for the ICJ opinion, Canada maintains trade policies with Israel which directly violate the ICJ’s findings.
Finally, CJPME notes that CIFTA is designed in a way that fundamentally contradicts proposals by Prime Minister Carney to recognize the State of Palestine. “Even as Carney is preparing to recognize a Palestinian state, his trade policy acts as though all trade within its territory is actually ‘Israeli.’ This makes absolutely no sense. Canada must cancel CIFTA, impose sanctions against Israel for its illegal economic exploitation of Palestine, and negotiate any trade agreements directly with the Palestinians on their own terms,” added Bueckert.
According to reports, the Israeli government is considering proposals to annex the occupied West Bank. While the pretext for annexation is retaliation for Canada and other countries pledging to recognize the State of Palestine, CJPME notes that Israel has been engaged in systematic de facto annexation for years and is only waiting for a political opportunity to make it official. This follows Israel’s latest decision to approve the E-1 settlement, which splits the West Bank into two, with the explicit intention of killing the possibility of a two-state solution. “After getting away with genocide, Israel has learned that there are no consequences for committing the gravest crimes under international law. Israel is annexing Palestine because we let it happen. That must stop now,” added Bueckert.