Canada calls on Israel to abandon plans for new West Bank settlements

A young Israeli settler walks to a bus stop outside of the West Bank settlement of Bruchin on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

OTTAWA — Canada is calling on Israel to abandon plans unveiled Thursday to authorize 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank which it says would be illegal.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Arab–Israeli war and the Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.

Global Affairs Canada says the proposed new settlements “violate international law and undermine prospects for lasting peace and security via the two-state solution.”

The Thursday decision would cover new settlements and legalize outposts already built without government authorization.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that the decision “constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism,” while a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the decision a “dangerous escalation” that could trigger more violence.

Canada joined the U.K. and France this month in threatening to impose targeted sanctions against Israeli officials if they continue to expand settlements in the West Bank.

Ottawa has repeatedly condemned mounting violence in the West Bank since a deadly October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel prompted months of bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press