Canada will stop sending weapons to Israel, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly confirmed to the Toronto Star newspaper on Tuesday March 19, after a vote by MPs in this direction. The Canadian Parliament adopted a non-binding motion on Monday in favor of an “immediate ceasefire” and asking the government to “cease the approval and transfer” of weapons “destined for Israel”.
“We are in a situation where the reality on the ground no longer allows us” to export weapons, a government source told Agence France-Presse.
“Since October 7, we have only approved permits for non-lethal cargo. And given the rapidly evolving situation on the ground, we have not approved any permits since January 8,” Ms. Joly, who visited the Middle East last week, had already said.
Army sales licenses granted by Canada since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas five months ago concerned only the export of non-lethal equipment, such as “communication tools”, the government source explained .
While affirming Israel’s right to defend itself, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has adopted an increasingly critical position towards the military operation carried out by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for the Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7.
According to Radio-Canada, Ottawa exported more than 21 million Canadian dollars (approximately 14.5 million euros) of military equipment to Israel in 2022 and 26 million in 2021, placing Israel among the top ten export destinations of Canadian weapons.
An “unfortunate” decision, says Israel
The head of Israeli diplomacy, Israel Katz, described as “unfortunate” the Canadian decision which “undermines Israel’s right to defend itself”. “History will harshly judge this decision by the Canadian government,” he said in a brief press release.
In the United States, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed, on X, Canada’s decision. “Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including the widespread and growing famine, the United States should not provide one more penny to Netanyahu’s war machine,” the head of the Israeli government, he said. commented.
The issue of arms delivery to Israel has sparked legal proceedings in several countries around the world. In Canada, a coalition of lawyers and citizens of Palestinian origin filed a complaint in early March against the government to suspend arms exports to Israel, accusing it of violating international law but also its domestic law.