Canada on Tuesday imposed sanctions on senior Hamas officials including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and its military chief Mohammed Deif, as well as Akram al-Ajouri of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, over their implication in planning the October 7 attack on Israel.
Canada’s sanctions were imposed on 11 individuals, also including senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) officials, for the attack and “the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to regional security,” the Canadian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
These measures prohibit all dealings with them in a bid to choke off their funding.
The move comes two weeks after Britain and the United States unveiled new coordinated asset freezes and travel bans on the militants.
They were said in a statement to be “integral to the planning, funding and execution of the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.”
“Canada unequivocally condemns Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel, its unacceptable treatment of hostages and its heinous use of sexual and gender-based violence as a tactic of war,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said.
Hamas itself, along with several linked groups, is already listed by Ottawa as a banned terrorist organization.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
