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A devastating invasion by Israel—with the help of the Palestinian Authority (PA)—has displaced over 40,000 Palestinians in the West Bank from their homes and livelihoods. The invasion was launched as soon as the ceasefire in Gaza began. Canada's government and Canadian companies are deeply involved in the ethnic cleansing campaign entitled "Operation Iron Wall."
Canada's support for Israel in the form of arms manufacturing and investments through pension funds, big banks, and universities has been well exposed over the last few years. What is less known, however, is Canada's role in the ongoing settlement in the West Bank through its support for the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF). The PASF is seen by many Palestinians as a proxy/subcontractor for Israel and its allies in the West Bank.
Operation "Iron Wall"
The joint PA-IDF invasion has focused on centres of resistance in the refugee camps and cities of Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and Tubas.
Marked by the shocking return of IDF tanks to the northern West Bank for the first time since the Battle of Jenin in 2002, the invasion has the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing campaign. It has included the annexation of land for additional illegal settlements and escalating pogroms against Palestinians by armed settler mobs protected by the military. The IDF has reportedly destroyed over 120 homes and killed more than 27 people during its 30-plus-day siege of the Jenin refugee camp, including a pregnant woman and a two-year-old.
Sixteen Palestinian children have been killed since the beginning of the campaign, half of them in airstrikes by an Israeli Air Force that is reliant on parts and maintenance from Canadian arms manufacturers such as Gastops, Asco Aerospace, Magellan, and Héroux-Devtek.
Many of the largest pension funds in Canada have billions invested in the weapons companies producing armaments being used by the IDF in this invasion. These include the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund (CDPQ). Canada's elite universities have invested millions in many of the same arms manufacturers and in companies operating illegally on occupied Palestinian territory.
Operation PROTEUS
The Canadian government is one of a few that arm and train the PA's police and intelligence services as part of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) program for Israel and the Palestinian territories. Led by Lieutenant General Frédéric Pruneau, Operation PROTEUS has 30 Canadians assigned to Task Force Jerusalem.
These include mostly Armed Forces members but also a civilian government official, RCMP officers and two Peel Regional Police members. They are tasked with "professionalizing" the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to more effectively suppress resistance in the West Bank.
The 20-year-old Canadian military operation has reportedly acted as a "go-between," fostering ties between Israel and the PA elites and mediating conflicts when they arise. Under the guise of promoting "peace" and "stability" in the West Bank, the USSC program is primarily dedicated to protecting Israel and making sure the PASF keep their weapons pointed at their own people.
The Palestinian Authority's Waning Popularity
Led by a clique of bureaucrats around President Mahmoud Abbas since 2005, the PA has grown increasingly unpopular. The violent repression during the Gaza genocide in particular, which saw more than 10,000 arrests in the West Bank and close to 1,000 Palestinians killed, has undermined the Palestinian Authority and united popular resistance factions to prevent the annexation of their homelands.
Last month, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Committee criticized the PA for cutting social support payments to the families of detainees and those killed by Israel and was promptly dismissed. Abbas has summed up his policy on cooperation with Israel in his 2014 statement that “security coordination is sacred and will continue whether we agree or disagree on policy."
A recent example of this "security coordination" policy can be seen in the PA's 43-day-long siege on the Jenin refugee camp. Beginning on December 5, 2024, and ending on January 17, 2025, the PASF killed eight civilians, including journalist Shatha Al-Sabbagh, during a brutal crackdown on the Jenin Brigades. This sparked the most intense episode of inter-Palestinian violence since 2007.
Some of the repressive tactics used by the PASF to silence dissent in the West Bank mirror those used to suppress activists in Canada fighting against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
The demonization of student protests, the firing of academics for supporting Palestinian resistance, the attacks on prisoner solidarity organizations, and the recent arrest of an independent journalist in Montreal for posts on social media are just some of the many examples of recent attacks on free speech and protest to protect Israel and the investments of the Canadian oligarchy.