Palestine is a state – a state that sponsors terrorism

Palestine is a state now formally recognized by Canada.

Is it a state that sponsors terrorism? And what should happen, if it is?

The key section is tucked into a little-known federal statue, the State Immunity Act. In section 6.1(2), Parliament has decreed that cabinet may “set out the name of a foreign state if, [cabinet] is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the foreign state supported or supports terrorism.”

When that happens, foreign states – which are always protected from prosecution and lawsuits in Canada – loses their immunity. They can then be prosecuted criminally, or sued civilly. So, Palestine could be taken to court, by governments or (significantly) citizens.

Thus, the key question: does Palestine sponsor terrorism?

“Terrorism,” in Canada’s Criminal Code, is defined as doing something for “a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause,” or doing it with the intention of intimidating people – and/or causing death or injury or property damage. Canadians don’t need to be the terrorist’s targets.

On October 7, 2023, however, Canadians were. Canadians Ben Mizrahi, Vivian Silver, Judih Weinstein Haggai, Adi Vital-Kaploun, Alexandre Look, Neta Epstein, Shir Georgy and Tiferet Lapidot all were all murdered by Palestinian terrorists on that day. Many more Canadians were caused bodily harm.

So, (a) Palestine is a state, and (b) Palestinians engaged in acts of terror against Canadians. Those are the facts. One key question remains: should the state of Palestine be prosecuted or sued for being a sponsor of terrorism?

Secure Canada was founded by families of 9/11 victims, Jewish and not. It regularly brings together an international network of counter-extremism experts, lawyers, policy analysts to combat extremism and terrorism. It also works with human rights and Muslim groups – including the Global Imams Council – and publishes studies about terrorism.

Secure Canada’s most-recent paper should be read very, very carefully by those who work in the office of the Prime Minister and down the street at Global Affairs. Because it methodically and convincingly makes the case that Palestine is, in fact, a state sponsor of terrorism.

[To read more, subscribe here]