Canada must sanction Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet

By Taha Ghayyur and Alex Neve*

The murder earlier this month by the Israeli military of Jacob Flickinger, a Canadian volunteer serving with the World Central Kitchen, the Canadian nationals trapped and at risk of being killed every day in Gaza, and families of Canadians approved for temporary resident visas but barred by Israel from exiting Gaza, all paint a stark reality of how close the unfolding genocide in Gaza is to Canadians.

The consequences extend to aid workers affiliated with Canadian charities — many of whom have been killed — as life-saving humanitarian aid, funded by Canadians, languishes at border crossings, denied entry by Israeli authorities.

No one is safe in Gaza. Aid workers, medics, journalists and civilians alike navigate a perilous landscape of relentless bombardment of homes, hospitals and aid facilities. The spectre of famine worsens as the World Central Kitchen paused operations and other humanitarian relief is blocked, threatening to consign countless thousands more to starvation.

At the heart of this orchestrated carnage is the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and war cabinet, whose policies show contempt for the international rules-based order, unleash war crimes against the Palestinian people, and fuel a humanitarian catastrophe which the International Court of Justice has found to plausibly constitute genocide. Israel’s dismissal of UN Security Council Resolution 2728, calling for an immediate ceasefire during Ramadan, exemplified a blatant disregard for international law.

Canada stands at a crossroads, faced with the moral imperative to act decisively against this full out assault on the most basic human rights. It is time for concrete action, beyond expressions of dismay and concern.

The imposition of targeted sanctions against members of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, under Canada’s Magnitsky Act and immigration laws, is an appropriate and overdue response to the flagrant violations they have authorized, which would reaffirm Canada’s commitment to international human rights and humanitarian law.

Such action is of course not without precedent; Canada has imposed sanctions against officials in several other countries, notably Russian President Vladimir Putin and his supportive oligarchs. Canada has already sanctioned Hamas leaders and in a recent House of Commons motion committed to — though has not acted on — sanctioning extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Imposing such sanctions would resonate with the collective voice of hundreds of Canadian organizations that have signed a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and more than 700 leading human rights activists in Israel who have been calling for the Netanyahu war cabinet to be sanctioned.

The imperative of Palestinian self-determination, long championed by Canada, now demands a bold reimagining of our diplomatic engagements in the Middle East. The rejection of a two-state solution by Netanyahu’s cabinet compels Canada to acknowledge Palestinian statehood, re-evaluating its relationship with an Israeli government that increasingly diverges from the democratic ideals and values that must be at the heart of any sustainable long-term solutions.

An overhaul of Canada’s foreign policy framework to the Israel-Palestine conflict is unavoidable and should entail not only the recognition of Palestinian statehood but also an honest assessment of our response to Israel’s failing democracy.

The obvious anchor to a revised Israel-Palestine policy should be Canada’s traditional commitment to justice and accountability. Globally, that must include supporting the case brought by South Africa under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice, and championing the investigations by the International Criminal Court, both of which Ottawa committed to in last month’s House of Commons motion but for which there is yet no evidence of action.

Here at home, accountability should be enforced through sanctions, including both economic restrictions and travel bans, directed squarely at Netanyahu and his government.

As we stand on the precipice of a pivotal juncture in Middle Eastern politics, Canada’s path forward must be paved with principled leadership, unwavering in its dedication to human rights and international justice.

Taha Ghayyur is the executive director of Justice for All Canada, a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to preventing genocide. Alex Neve is a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa. 

Originally published as an opinion piece in the Toronto Star on April 14, 2024