“Go after the architecture of the occupation.”
1 October 2025
OTTAWA – A new global coalition of civil society organizations spanning Canada and Europe are calling on their governments to urgently sanction the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and its Settlement Division (WZOSD) as part of their sanctions programs against Violent Settler Extremists in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Canadian coalition members submitted a 38-page formal economic sanctions request on behalf of the Global Sanctions Coalition (GSC) to Global Affairs Canada.
The submission calls on the Government of Canada to impose further sanctions under the existing regulations focused on extremist settler violence. While the Canadian government has previously sanctioned individuals involved in illegal settlements, the coalition emphasizes the need to move beyond individual perpetrators to target the central institutions, leaders, and cash flow that enable violent land theft by the Israelis extremist settler movement taking over the West Bank.
“It’s long past time for Canada, and its allies, to use coordinated and targeted economic sanctions against these state-sponsored violent settler organizations. They are the architecture of occupation. Continuing to allow these activities flies in the face of Canada’s recognition of the Palestinian State and commitment to the two-state solution,” said Alex Paterson, of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) .
Since 2022, the WZOSD has notably fueled the mass expulsion and displacement of dozens of Palestinian shepherding communities in the West Bank by offering up privately-owned Palestinian land for the exclusive use of Israeli settlers. Also named are WZOSD officials Gael Greenwald and Hosha’aya Harari, who have openly endorsed the expansion of illegal farming outposts in the West Bank. Greenwald has vowed to “do everything possible to establish, strengthen, and expand” them and praised such outposts as “positive” for Israel, while Harari confirmed WZOSD’s financial backing.
The package additionally targets Israeli Minister Orit Strook, a senior figure in the extremist Religious Zionist Party and Minister of Settlements and National Missions, a body tasked with legalizing and expanding illegal outposts through the WZOSD, in clear violation of international law. At an April ceremony celebrating the provision of government gifts to illegal settlements in the South Hebron Hills, Strook praised settlers as the “true fighters for the Land of Israel” and cast herself as their “combat support.”
“Minister Strook is a life-long extremist settler activist and leads state-sponsored efforts to violently expand illegal outposts,” said Paterson. “Sanctioning Strook is the logical next step for Canada, following its earlier measures targeting Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich for their leadership of this dangerous colonial movement imperiling future prospects for peace.”
The coalition also formally submitted a complimentary sanctions package recommending economic measures targeting Keren Kayemet LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (“KKL-JNF”), a body linked to the WZO and likewise involved in expanding and sustaining Israel’s unlawful presence in occupied Palestinian territory. KKL-JNF’s Canadian branch, JNF Canada, had its charitable status revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency in August 2024, in part due to its financing of projects involving the Israeli military and settlement project.
“Both the WZOSD and KKL-JNF contribute directly to the dispossession and displacement of Palestinian communities by providing material and financial support to violent settlers, including those already sanctioned by Canada,” said Corey Balsam of Independent Jewish Voices. “If Canada is truly serious about tackling settler violence, these are the key groups it needs to go after.”
Additional sanctions packages from the newly-formed coalition will be forthcoming in the coming months. The coalition plans to systematically propose escalating sanctions that will compel Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories in accordance with the International Court of Justice’s most recent advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
“This package is only the first step in a necessary and sustained campaign to expand Canada’s sanctions regime to focus on the institutions and leaders responsible for enabling Israel’s unlawful activities in illegally occupied Palestine,” said Karen Rodman of Just Peace Advocates. “We implore Canada to apply its own human-rights criteria consistently, and to sanction those who design, fund, and sustain Israel’s inherently violent occupation.”
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The Global Sanctions Coalition (GSC) is a nonpartisan international alliance that mobilizes civil society and allies to promote the effective and ethical use of economic sanctions. GSC’s mission is twofold: to ensure sanctions are precisely targeted to halt atrocities and malign conduct, and to drive the recalibration of programs that inflict undue harm on civilians or are otherwise inconsistent, biased, or counterproductive.
Participant organizations in GSC’s World Zionist Organization submission include the Palestinian Canadian Congress, the Coalition of Palestinian Canadian Organizations, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), and Just Peace Advocates, in addition to EU-based groups, including 11.11.11, PAX, and The Rights Forum.
The sanctions file is available upon request for members of the press.
Media contacts
Corey Balsam, Independent Jewish Voices, corey@ijvcanada.org
Alex Paterson, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, alex.paterson@cjpme.org
Karen Rodman, Just Peace Advocates, info@justpeaceadvocates.ca