Canada, 22 May 2026 — Today, Canada, alongside Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom released a statement regarding the occupied West Bank. Specifically, they reiterated that “International law is clear: Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. Construction projects in the E1 area would be no exception.” They went on to say “Businesses should not bid for construction tenders for E1 or other settlement developments. They should be aware of legal and reputational consequences of participating in settlement construction including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law.” This statement follows advocacy efforts by the Global Sanctions Coalition and its Canadian members including Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Independent Jewish Voices, and Just Peace Advocates.
The E1 annexation project has been a long-standing part of Israel’s settler colonial project. According to Al-Haq, “The area spans over 22,000 dunums of predominantly privately owned Palestinian land, unlawfully expropriated by Israel and declared as “State Land” during the 1980s.” In the 1990s, then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin established “master plan” for illegal settlement construction in the E1 area. Throughout the next 20 years, the project would be revived and put on hold several times. However, in August 2025, the Israeli government gave final approval for the E1 plan and construction of more than 3,000 housing units. While all settlement construction is illegal, the E1 plan has received international condemnation since the 1990s because it would sever the occupied West Bank in two.
The E1 area sits between three Palestinians cities, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and East Jerusalem. The annexation project would forcibly displace Palestinian communities, destroy their homes, steal their land, and prevent farmers from maintaining their livelihoods. The latter is particularly salient because the area is home to “approximately 3,000 Palestinian Bedouins belonging to 20 communities”, who raise cattle for a living, and many of whom were forcibly displaced from their homes in the Naqab (“Negev”) during the Nakba.
“For Palestinians and much of the international community, the E1 settlement plan is not just another construction project; it is the second cornerstone — after the apartheid Wall — in Israel’s wider annexation strategy in the West Bank.”
The Israeli government has made this clear. Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich — who is already sanctioned by Canada — said the E1 settlement project “buries the idea of a Palestinian state” and “consolidates the Jewish people’s hold on the heart of the Land of Israel.”
Image Source: Peace Now
While the tender process for the E1 project was extended to July 2026, the Israeli government is actively preparing for construction. Just this week, Minister Bezalel Smotrich “instructed the Civil Administration’s Deputy Head of Civil Affairs to begin proceedings for the evacuation of the Palestinian community of Khan al-Ahmar, located east of Jerusalem in the heart of the West Bank. The residents of Khan al-Ahmar are Palestinians who were displaced from areas inside Israel in 1948 and settled east of Jerusalem during the 1960s.” While previous efforts to commence the E1 projects were held up by international pressure, according to the Israeli organization Peace Now, Smotrich’s directive could lead to the “demolition of homes in Khan al-Ahmar” in “the coming weeks.” This follows the demolition of a large Palestinian commercial complex in Al-Eizariya on 12 May 2026. The goal of these demolitions was to “[divert] Palestinian traffic away from the Ma’ale Adumim area and [close] the entire E1 area to Palestinians.”
Image Source: Peace Now
As Canada itself reiterated today, Israeli settlements are illegal, including the proposed E1 project. Canada must do more than release statements, they must take tangible action to stop the E1 annexation plan and end all support for illegal Israeli settlements. Canada is currently supporting illegal settlements through trade, investments, strategic support, and weapons. Canada must abide by international law, which was outlined by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel in October 2024.
“States must:
- distinguish in their military aid and assistance, foreign aid and support, and business enterprises when dealing with Israel and the Occupied Palestinian … (para 24)
- take all reasonable steps to conduct a comprehensive review of existing treaties, agreements and arrangements with Israel in order to ensure distinction in their dealings between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to exclude any dealing that would support the maintenance of the unlawful occupation… (para 25)
- conduct a due diligence review of all transfer and trade agreements with Israel, including but not limited to equipment, weapons, munitions, parts, components, dual use items and technology, to determine whether the goods or technology subject to the transfer or trade contribute to maintaining the unlawful occupation or are used to commit violations of international law… (para 26)
- ensure that Israel is not committing or preparing to commit violations of international humanitarian law. States must also prevent or punish genocide… (para 28
- abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory… (para 29)
- cease all financial, trade, investment, and economic relations with Israel that maintain the unlawful occupation or contribute to maintaining it… (para 29)
- examine private enterprises incorporated in the State and non-profit or non-governmental organizations registered in the State and their dealings with the State of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory… (para 30)
- require a thorough due-diligence review of these entities and ensure that they are not engaging in any business, activity or financial support that maintains the unlawful occupation or contributes to maintaining it. If a State finds that such entities are engaging in activities that maintain the unlawful occupation, the State must take all reasonable measures to prevent the activities, such as revoking a corporation’s articles of incorporation or revoking a non-profit organization’s registration in that State…” (para 30)
- not render aid or assistance to educational, academic, research or cultural activities that support or maintain the unlawful occupation… (para 32)
Additionally, Canada must issue advisory alerts to all Canadian entities against participation in, or investments in companies participating in, the construction of any settlement projects, including in the E1 area. Further, Canada must immediately implement sanctions against foreign entities participating in illegal settlement activity, including the maintenance of current illegal settlements. Canada must also institute legal proceedings against Canadian entities engaged in the maintenance or expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements.
For more information, contact:
