Canada will halt arms shipments to Israel, a government source announced the day before yesterday, Tuesday, following a non-binding vote in Parliament.

Canada’s Parliament on Monday adopted a non-binding resolution in favor of an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This resolution also called on the government to suspend approvals and arms shipments to Israel.

After October 7, only permits for non-lethal equipment have been approved, and given the rapid development of the situation on the field, no permits have been approved since January 8, according to Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Jolie, who visited the Middle East last week.

Arms sales licenses granted by Canada after the start of the Gaza war were exclusively for exports of non-lethal equipment such as communications equipment.

While stressing that Israel has a right to defend itself, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has taken an increasingly critical stance toward Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, which are being carried out in retaliation for Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

According to radio station Radio-Canada, in 2022 Ottawa exported military equipment to Israel worth more than 21 million Canadian dollars, while in 2021 their value was 26 million Canadian dollars.

Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, called Canada’s decision unfortunate, which undermines Israel’s right to defend itself. History will judge this decision of the Canadian government harshly, he commented in a statement.

In the US, Democratic Senator, Bernie Sanders, welcomed Canada’s decision in a post on X. In many countries there have been legal challenges against the supply of arms to Israel.

Source: CNN Greece

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