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Canada Hits Hamas, Israeli Settlers, Iran With New Sanctions

Protests in Ottawa, Canada on February 5, 2022 - Dave Chan AFP
Protests in Ottawa, Canada on February 5, 2022 - Dave Chan AFP
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Canada Hits Hamas, Israeli Settlers, Iran With New Sanctions

Protests in Ottawa, Canada on February 5, 2022 - Dave Chan AFP
Protests in Ottawa, Canada on February 5, 2022 - Dave Chan AFP

Canada on Wednesday announced further sanctions against Hamas over its "acts of terror" and several Israeli settlers for "extremist violence" against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

Ottawa also, along with Australia and the United States, added five senior Iranian officials to its sanctions list for their roles in policies leading to the violent repression of protests, AFP reported.

The new sanctions target 11 individuals and two entities with roles in Hamas's financial network that Ottawa said was used in the planning and execution of attacks on Israel launched on October 7, 2023, the government said in a statement.

Four Israelis, as well as the Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich, were also listed for "participating in or facilitating acts of harassment and violence, including attacks on humanitarian convoys... and displacement of Palestinian communities."

The latest sanctions against five senior Iranian officials were announced to mark the two years since the death in Iranian custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of Tehran's strict dress code for women.

As the sanctions were rolled out, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, which is acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, along with Egypt and the United States.

Trudeau expressed a "deep concern over the risk of an expanded conflict between Israel and Iran as well as Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned groups," according to a readout of their talks.

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Netanyahu Prepares Grounds to Dismiss Chief of Staff

Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
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Netanyahu Prepares Grounds to Dismiss Chief of Staff

Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)

After the successful ousting of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing the grounds to dismiss Army chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, reports in Tel Aviv revealed.
The PM’s intentions were visible through a series of preliminary measures. In a nine-minute video statement posted to social media on Saturday, Netanyahu claimed the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft and leak of classified documents, including by his aides, aimed at harming him and “an entire political camp.”
He then asserted that vital classified documents weren’t reaching him. “I am the prime minister. I need to receive important classified documents, and indeed sometimes important information doesn’t reach me.”
Netanyahu then defended his former spokesman Eli Feldstein, who is accused of leaking a classified document in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza.
Last Thursday, Feldstein was charged with transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state.
The PM considered accusations against his spokesman as a “witch hunt” against his aides and Israelis who support him.
For the past 14 years, the Israeli right had run a large-scale incitement campaign against the security services. But in the last year, this camp increased its attack, particularly against the Chief of Staff, Halevi, who believes it is necessary to stop the war and ink a deal with Hamas.
The right-wing “Mida” website published a report entitled “Herzi Halevi’s Political Sabotage,” describing the man’s “rising against the Israeli political leadership.”
The report said Halevi's inappropriate behavior started during the first weeks of the war when the Army announced it was “ready for a ground attack,” accusing Netanyahu of delaying such an operation.
Mida then listed several other instances in which it described Netanyahu as a great leader who ordered strong attacks and deep military operations. It then accused the army of refraining from following his orders.
The report concludes that the “freeing of hostages file was the straw that broke the camel's back.”
In an April 2024 speech marking the six-month anniversary of the war, Halevi has said that it is time to end the war in Gaza and reach a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, while Netanyahu took a hardline stance, refusing to compromise on what he called “red lines.”
The Madi website also criticized Halevi for saying that the government was responsible for ordering the army of again operating in Jabalia, a decision that resulted in significant Israeli casualties.
“Halevi should have been dismissed as soon as the government was formed, and this was Netanyahu's mistake. But it is not too late to fix it. You can't win wars with rebel chiefs of staff,” the website wrote.