Key Players Behind Anti-Israel Lawfare in Canada
On June 2, 2025, The Toronto Star reported that Canadian law enforcement has been “investigating potential war crimes related to the Israel-Hamas conflict” since early 2024.
Lawfare is the exploitation of courts and international law to harass Israeli officials and corporations that do business with Israel and advance false charges of “war crimes,” “crimes against humanity,” and other alleged violations of international law.
On June 2, 2025, The Toronto Star reported that Canadian law enforcement has been “investigating potential war crimes related to the Israel-Hamas conflict” since early 2024.
On May 13-16, 2025, the UK High Court held a hearing on a challenge to the government’s refusal to suspend export licenses for F-35 components produced in the UK as part of a global program that includes Israel. The case against the British government was brought by two NGOs and supported by others.
The ICC arrest warrants are the product of years of lobbying and engagement on the part of terror-linked, anti-Israel NGOs, including Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR).
On October 12, 2024, Belgium-based NGO Hind Rajab Foundation announced it had submitted a complaint to the ICC to issue arrest warrants against 1000 Israeli soldiers. The Hind Rajab Foundation was officially registered in Belgium in September 2024. Long-time anti-Israel activists Dyab Abou Jahjah and Karim Hassoun serve as the NGO’s chair and secretary,
FIDH’s Palestinian NGO members – Al-Haq (represented on FIDH’s international board), Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), and Al Mezan – clearly are closely linked to the PFLP terror group, and promoted the genocide canard from the first days of the war.
On May 20, 2024, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, alongside three Hamas leaders. International, Palestinian, and Israeli NGOs celebrated the decision, demonizing Israel with allegations of “apartheid” and “crimes against humanity.”
Importantly, as part of the NGO Durban Declaration and accompanying BDS campaigns, advocacy organizations have sought to turn the ICC into a court of universal jurisdiction. Like their exploitation of the UN and other international frameworks, these NGOs seek to use the ICC for demonization and to brand Israeli officials as “war criminals.”
On May 20, 2024, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he was pursuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. Khan alleged that both “bear criminal responsibility” for the war crime of “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.” Many anti-Israel NGOs initiated the “starvation as a weapon” narrative immediately following Hamas’ brutal assault on October 7.
On February 12, 2024, the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled that the Netherlands must cease transfer of US-owned F-35 fighter jet components to Israel. The appeal was initiated by four pro-BDS NGOs – Oxfam Novib, PAX, Rights Forum, and Amnesty International – which had sued the Dutch government to stop the transfers and had lost in District Court.
NGOs funded through German development programs (Entwicklungshilfe) with the stated aim to promote “human rights” and “international law” have failed to condemn these blatant violations of human rights and humanitarian principles.