Canada halts arms exports to Israel after criticisms grow

The Canadian government has halted all arms shipments to Israel, a move that has drawn the ire of the Tel Aviv regime as it faces growing international isolation over its genocidal war on Gaza.

"The situation on the ground makes it so that we can't" export any kind of military equipment, a Canadian official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Canada's foreign minister Melanie Joly told the Toronto Star newspaper on Tuesday that Ottawa would stop arms exports to Israel.

Israel slammed the decision, with foreign minister Israel Katz claiming it "undermines Israel's right to self-defense."

Canada had earlier announced that it reduced its weapons shipments to Israel to non-lethal equipment such as radios following the regime’s onslaught on Gaza on October 7.

The latest decision came after the Canadian Parliament on Monday passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the international community to work toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Canada is a key ally of the US, which provides Israel with billions of dollars a year in military aid.

Israel has been a top receiver of Canadian arms exports, with CAN$21 million worth of military materiel exported to Israel in 2022, according to Radio Canada, following CAN$26 million in shipments in 2021.

There have been growing calls for countries to cut arms exports to Israel and to impose sanctions over the regime’s repeated massacres against Palestinians.

Governments including Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands have suspended arms transfers to Israel.  

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'Important step'

Canada has faced mounting domestic and international criticism for its support for the regime’s onslaught and its continued export of arms to the regime.

Campaign groups in Canada welcomed the decision to cease further arms exports to Israel, but they said the government must make clear if the decision also applies to existing arms export permits.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East called the ban “an important step”, but said, “We need to make sure that Canada stops the transfer of all military exports, period, without any loopholes”.

Labour Against the Arms Trade promised to campaign for a ban on existing arms permits.

“Let us be clear: We will continue mobilizing with allies until all such permits are canceled,” it said in a post on X.

US Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed the move, saying in a post on X: "Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including widespread and growing starvation, the US should not provide another nickel for Netanyahu's war machine."

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