Canada will ban all arms shipments to Israel, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has announced.
The move comes after lawmakers voted 204-117 on Tuesday in favour of a non-binding motion to stop the weapons sales, after a lengthy debate Monday.
Initially, the motion was for a weapons sales suspension, but that was changed to an outright ban. The motion also included a clause that called for support of the eventual “establishment of the State of Palestine.”
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Palestinian advocacy group, said the vote represented a “small step forward for ending Canadian complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.”
Canada exported over CAN$21 million (US$15 million) in military gear to Tel Aviv in 2022. The highest amount sent to Israel was CAN$28 million (US$20.5 million) during the First Intifada (Palestinian uprising) in December 1987. Lawmakers are concerned that Israel is increasingly using Canadian arms to commit war crimes in Palestinian territories.
Almost 32,000 Palestinians – the majority, women and children – have been killed by relentless Israeli attacks since October 7th, 2023.
Does the ban on arms sales by Canada represent a shift in Western support for Israel’s war? Let us know what you think.