OTTAWA: Canada will halt arms shipments to Israel, Melanie Joly, Foreign Minister of Canada confirmed a decision that has drawn the ire of Israeli leaders facing growing international scrutiny over the war in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, and months of war have pushed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the brink of famine.
Canada, which provides Israel with billions of dollars a year in military aid, had already reduced its shipments to Israel to only include non-lethal equipment, following the October 7 Hamas attack.
“Since January 8th, the Canadian government did not approve new arms export permits to Israel and this will continue until we can ensure full compliance with our export regime,” according to a statement issued from Joly’s office.
“There are no open permits for exports of lethal goods to Israel,” it added.
Export permits approved prior to January 8, however, would “remain in effect,” Joly’s office said, explaining that canceling them risked “important implications for both Canada and its allies,” including NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
A senior Canadian official had on Tuesday told AFP that “the situation on the ground makes it so that we can’t” export any equipment that could have a potential military use.
Israel slammed the decision, with foreign minister Israel Katz saying it “undermines Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas terrorists.”
“History will judge Canada’s current action harshly,” he said in a post on social media platform X.
US Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed the move, saying in his own post on social media: “Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including widespread and growing starvation, the US should not provide another nickel for (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s war machine.”
The issue of arms deliveries to Israel has triggered legal proceedings in several countries around the world.
In Canada, a coalition of lawyers and citizens of Palestinian origin filed a complaint against the government in early March to suspend arms exports to Israel, accusing Ottawa of violating both international and domestic law.
Israel has historically been a top receiver of Canadian arms exports, with Can$21 million worth of military materiel exported to Israel in 2022, according to government data, following Can$26 million in shipments in 2021.
That places Israel among the top 10 recipients of Canadian arms exports.
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