Liberals condemn Israeli executions, but their policies say otherwise

Canada’s Foreign Minister has denounced a new Israeli law that permits the execution of Palestinian political prisoners. Despite the Liberals’ claim to support Palestinian human rights, the federal government maintains policies which support Israeli occupation and genocide while criminalizing solidarity with Palestinian resistance.

“Death Penalty for Terrorists” passed in the third reading in the Israeli Knesset on March 30. It sentences Palestinians within the West Bank convicted of “fatal acts of terrorism” by the military courts to execution by hanging within 90 days of conviction. 

Israeli law describes fatal acts of terrorism as “intentionally causing the death of a person with the intent to negate the existence of the State of Israel.” The right to resist foreign occupation and colonial domination has been protected under international law since 1982.

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand said in a social media post about the prisoner execution law: “Canada unequivocally opposes its application. We reaffirm our commitment to human rights and the global movement to abolish the death penalty.” 

Although Anand claims that Canada is committed to the human rights of Palestinian prisoners, the Canadian government proscribed the only Palestinian prisoner solidarity network in Canada as a terrorist entity. Samidoun is the largest global network supporting the rights and welfare of Palestinian prisoners, and was listed as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by Canada in 2024.

Days after Israel formalized the execution of Palestinian prisoners into law, Vancouverites rallied at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Friday, April 3. City residents and speakers from various local organizations decried the bill and condemned the Canadian government’s inaction on Israel’s latest assault on Palestinians.

Stephanie, a retired child therapist and counsellor attending the protest, was unimpressed by Anand’s comments. 

“What human rights? We’re talking about human rights in the middle of a genocide, which is ongoing? Our government is just full of hypocrisy and absolutely complicit in the whole genocide, and they continue to be.”

Indeed, the federal parliament recently voted down a bill which would amend the Export and Import Permits Act in an effort to check the ongoing flow of Canadian weapons components to the Israeli military through the United States. Bill C-233, dubbed the “No More Loopholes Act,” only proposed to bring Canada in line with the Arms Trade Treaty. Despite this minimalist aim, it was defeated 295 to 22 votes in its second reading on March 11. 

Nadia Jarrar, a speaker from the Canada Palestine Association (CPA), condemned the new law as “murder dressed in parliamentary procedure.” The legalization of the death penalty for Palestinians in Israeli prisons represents colonial law merely catching up with its own longstanding practices: the extrajudicial killings of Palestinian prisoners, who are critical to the nation’s resistance movement.

Jarrar also pointed to the Canada’s sanctions policies it illustrates where the government’s loyalties lie:

“The same Canada that refuses to sanction the Zionist entity for its genocide sanctions resistance forces in Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen. Canada sanctions those who defend the oppressed while refusing to sanction the oppressor. This is imperialism with a maple leaf on its boots.”

Commenting on the failure of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court to uphold international human rights law during the Gaza genocide, Jarrar remarked:

“These institutions exist not to protect the oppressed, but to legitimize the oppressor. They are the velvet glove hiding the iron fist of empire.”

While Canadian parliament cannot agree to follow the Arms Trade Treaty, the BC Teachers Federation can agree that genocide is impermissible. A member of the BCTF, which recently voted in favour of adopting BDS at its Annual General Meeting, spoke at the rally against the execution law.