Montreal, October 19, 2026 - Following a weekend of extraordinary Israeli settler violence against international journalists and diplomats in the occupied West Bank, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on the Canadian government to impose comprehensive, area-based sanctions on Israeli settlements and the entities that sustain them. Today also represents the bidding deadline for the first Israeli settlement tender in the E1 area, a highly contentious project that would further entrench Israel’s settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank. CJPME warns that time is running out in the face of intensifying violations by the Israeli state and extremist settlers.
Over the weekend, Israeli settlers attacked Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, as well as European diplomats and a French mayor in two separate incidents of recorded settler violence, as the annual Palestinian olive harvest got underway.
These attacks underscore the growing threats faced by Palestinians and those documenting or witnessing violence against them. Although Minister Anand has condemned these attacks as well as the “broader pattern of settler violence,” CJPME warns that her statement puts too much faith in Israel’s internal police investigation given the overwhelming evidence that Israel is incapable of investigating itself.
“As a Canadian-Palestinian who has been working on the ground in the West Bank for decades to protect Palestinian indigenous land rights through registration, development and affordable ownership, we have witnessed Israel settler violence rise in frequency, violence and viscousness,” said Khaled Sabawi, CEO of TABO Palestine and CJPME Board Member. “We cannot access most of our lands in the West Bank due settler pogroms against us that can happen at any minute."
"Israeli settlers have destroyed our newly paved roads, burned our company car, injured our employees, and attacked one of our customers so viciously that they put him in the hospital for days," added Sabawi. The continued expansion of Israeli settlements entrenches Israel’s unlawful presence in the territory, facilitates the displacement of Palestinian communities, and undermines Palestinians’ right to self-determination. The E1 settlement project in particular threatens to further fragment the occupied West Bank and undermine the territorial contiguity necessary for Palestinian self-determination. The arrival of the E1 tender’s bidding deadline highlights the urgent need for Canada to move beyond statements of concern and take concrete measures to prevent further settlement expansion.
“Canada has made it clear to Israel that it opposes E-1, and has warned businesses of possible legal risks if they profit from this war crime. Yet this has not been enough to convince Israel to change course. With the bidding deadline coming to a close, we have run out of time for empty threats. Canada must impose comprehensive sanctions targeting Israeli settlements as well as the political and economic actors that sustain them,” said Yara Shoufani, CJPME President.