The United Jewish People’s Order-Canada condemns in the strongest terms the impending Israeli annexation of parts of occupied West Bank in Palestine.

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After 53 years of the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem and the illegal military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced its intention to annex large portions of the West Bank starting in July, with full backing from the Trump administration.

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Israeli control of Palestinian territories is illegal under international law, which is clear in its emphasis on the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force." Despite numerous UN resolutions urging Israel to end its occupation, Israel has chosen to continue on the path of settler-colonialism, land seizure and forcible displacement of Palestinians.

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Indeed, annexing territory without granting full citizenship rights to the three million Palestinians in the West Bank is unconscionable and has disturbing parallels to both Apartheid and Jim Crow; Palestinians would be left in nominally autonomous and disconnected enclaves under Israeli rule.

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We call on the Trudeau government to condemn the annexation and take action against it.

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Canada must abide by its stated commitment to international law and the rules-based order by pledging meaningful steps against Israel's unilateral annexations.

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This must include the imposition of sanctions, such as suspending the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and prohibiting all trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

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If recent history is any indication, verbal rebukes are insufficient, and only concrete action can ensure that Israel is deterred from its imminent violations of international law.