Canada is halting arms shipments to Israel, a Canadian government source told the media on Tuesday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told reporters in an interview that her government would halt future arms shipments. She claimed:
It is a real thing.
Ottawa has exported only “non-lethal” goods, such as communications equipment, to Israel since Hamas triggered the war in the Gaza Strip on 7 October. There have been no exports since January, the source added.
Israel has historically been a major recipient of Canadian arms exports. According to Radio Canada, C$21 million worth of military equipment will be exported to Israel in 2022 and C$26 million worth in 2021.
In March, a coalition of lawyers and Palestinian Canadians filed a complaint against the Canadian government demanding it suspend arms exports to Israel, saying Ottawa was violating both domestic and international law.
On Monday, the Canadian parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling on the international community to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
The bloodiest Gaza war in history erupted after an unprecedented Hamas attack on 7 October that killed some 1,160 people in Israel, according to official AFP figures.
In response, Israel has been on a sustained offensive against Hamas, which has killed at least 31,819 people, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
While affirming Israel’s right to self-defence, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken an increasingly critical stance towards Israel as the number of civilian casualties in Gaza rises.
