The Flawed Narrative of ‘Settler Violence’
Canada, in coordination with the UK, France, and Australia, has just imposed sanctions on seven Israeli individuals and entities, reportedly suspected of involvement in violence against Palestinian civilians and property. In truth, Canada has targeted Israeli civil society organizations, construction companies, and even an advocacy and think-tank organization, almost certainly based on false and manipulated reports of “settler violence”. These sanctions are unjust, unwarranted, and inappropriate against the citizens of a fellow democratic country. Canadians naturally support punishing violent offenders, yet these groups are not involved in violence.
In February 2024, the Biden administration, for the first time, issued sanctions against allegedly violent settlers, intended as a counterbalance to sanctions against Hamas terrorists. The United States, like other countries, does not compile data on settler violence and instead relies on figures provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory (OCHA-oPT). OCHA’s data is regularly quoted in the media, yet it compiles the numbers using a flawed methodology that undermines its reliability. While violent crime certainly exists among Israeli settlers and is deplorable, OCHA’s definition is so broad as to include cases in which Palestinians were injured or killed as a result of attacks they committed against Jews, as well as anti-terror operations by Israeli security forces.
For example, OCHA reports that 8 Palestinians were killed by “extremist settlers” in 2023, prior to the October 7th massacre. Further inspection shows that these included armed Palestinians killed while trying to break into an Israeli farm near Karnei Shomron, a terrorist who shot an Israeli resident of Sde Ephraim, and a terrorist killed after murdering four Israelis in a restaurant near Eli. OCHA claims over 8,000 violent incidents involving settlers between April 2023 January 2016. Of 1,704 incidents recorded in East Jerusalem, 1,361 involve Jews visiting the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. Thousands of cases involving Israelis hiking or touring sites in Judea and Samaria are labeled as violent incidents, despite no Palestinian casualties or property damage. The real numbers recorded by the Israeli police are far lower, with most incidents below the threshold for opening an investigation.
The sanctions are explicitly meant to parallel sanctions on Palestinian terrorists, as evidenced by EU Foreign Affairs Minister Kaja Kallas’ announcement of sanctions on both in May 2026. This parallelism is fundamentally flawed and misleading. While Israeli settler crimes are largely limited to property damage, Palestinian terrorism is far more widespread and deadly. Israel’s CSIS, the Shabak, recorded 1,374 foiled and 54 successful terrorist plots in 2025. These include 717 cases of gunfire, 630 cases of bombs, as well as stabbings, ramming, suicide attacks, and kidnapping. In 2025, 197 Israelis were injured and 25 murdered. Furthermore, international sanctions against Palestinians are limited to Hamas.
In September 2025, Canada recognized the State of Palestine, supposedly conditional on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to fundamental reforms. The same Palestinian Authority, under Palestinian law, continues to pay monthly stipends to terrorists convicted in Israeli courts. The longer the sentence, the higher the monthly payment – providing a strong incentive for Palestinians to murder Israelis. According to the Israeli government, the PA doled out 214 million USD to terrorists in 2025, up from USD 144 million in 2024. The official PA media, echoed in mosques and the education system, continues to incite murder against Israeli Jews. By the standards of the sanctioning countries, there is no compelling reason to ignore the far more lethal and prevalent anti-Israeli violence originating from Palestinian society. Even further, by its own logic, Canada should be subject to sanctions for providing aid to violence-incentivizing PA.
The most egregious sanctions so far have been imposed on Regavim, an Israeli research organization. The EU justified its inclusion of Regavim based on its institution of legal proceedings to enforce Israeli laws against illegal Arab building in Judea and Samaria. Settler violence implies vigilante justice, yet lobbying the government and the courts is the very opposite of violent and illegal activity. Canadian Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin defended the right to access courts, stating that “if people cannot bring legitimate issues to court, the creation and maintenance of positive laws will be hampered, as laws will not be given effect.” Chief Justice Richard Wagner, speaking in 2018, emphasized that access to justice was a condition of democracy and human rights. Yet Regavim and its director, Meir Deutsch, have been sanctioned for exercising their democratically guaranteed constitutional rights.
Ultimately, the sanctions call into question Canada’s aspirations to be a fair and impartial player in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last year, Canada and other countries sanctioned Israeli government ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich. That is no way to treat democratically elected leaders of a close partner. Canada’s adoption of the “settler violence” narrative signals a dangerous willingness to believe the worst about Israel, even when the evidence is shaky or nonexistent. To move forward constructively, Canada must reverse its course.
