As Canada joined the United Kingdom, Norway, France, New Zealand and Australia in announcing new sanctions on Tuesday against several Israeli organizations, it also imposed sanctions on the Regavim Movement.
The announcement follows a May 28 decision by the Council of the European Union to sanction several Judea and Samaria advocacy groups and leaders, labeling them “extremist Israeli settlers and organizations” accused of “serious and systematic human rights abuses” against Palestinians in the territory.
Those sanctioned under the E.U.’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime include the Regavim NGO and its director, Meir Deutsch; the Nachala Settlement Movement and its director, Daniella Weiss; Hashomer Yosh and its president, Avichai Suissa; and Amana, the settlement-building cooperative affiliated with the Gush Emunim movement.
Deutsch said on Wednesday that Regavim would immediately file an appeal and a counterclaim, “demanding that our name be cleared and that we be compensated for the injustice caused to us.”
He called the sanctions “a disgraceful attempt to silence us and the Zionist majority in Israeli society, which understands that the establishment of a hostile Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel would endanger the future of the State of Israel.”
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on May 11 that E.U. foreign ministers reached a political agreement to sanction the organizations and several associated individuals.
They cited Regavim and its CEO, Meir Deutsch, for the organization’s activities and legal petitions against illegal construction projects in Judea and Samaria that were funded by the European Union.
Among those projects was a school built at the foot of Herodium that was later demolished following a petition filed by Regavim, after an engineering assessment determined that the structure posed a safety risk.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Norway and the United Kingdom said that they were taking “coordinated action” to sanction “extremist settlers” for what they said were “horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians.”
“Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights,” the countries said. “They use violence to displace Palestinians, destroy property and perpetuate the illegal settlement enterprise, undermining the viability of the state of Palestine and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.”
Israel said that it “firmly rejects” the charges, which it said targeted the Jewish state “camouflaged as measures against violence.”
In a press release, Deutsch slammed the latest sanctions, rejecting any suggestion that the organization was linked to acts of violence.
“We strongly condemn the smearing of our name in an announcement that links us to acts of violence,” Deutsch said. “As a research and policy organization, we have, over the years, exposed European and Canadian involvement in illegal activity in Judea and Samaria and have taken legal action against it through lawful and legitimate means.”
“Imposing sanctions on a civil society organization whose only ‘crime’ is petitioning the courts is a badge of shame for what was once a proud Canadian democracy,” Deutsch concluded.
