Six Canadians have filed a complaint with the country’s Competition Bureau over Israeli real-estate events aimed at overseas buyers. They allege that some firms market properties in the occupied West Bank as if they were in Israel, obscuring legal, financial and other risks linked to the purchases.
The complaint uses a novel legal approach to challenge the marketing practices. It follows protests in Canada, Britain and the United States in recent years over Israeli property promotion tours.
The issue comes as Canada considers its response to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and rising violence by extremist settlers. The territory was occupied by Israel in 1967. About three million Palestinians and roughly 500,000 Jewish settlers live there, according to the report.
Much of the international community regards Israel’s occupation and settlements as illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes. In September, Canada joined Britain and France in announcing a ban on imports of goods from Israeli settlements, saying the move underscored its view that the occupation is illegal and undermines prospects for peace and a Palestinian state.
Sources: The New York Times World.