Canada to stop arms exports to Israel; FM Katz: History will judge you harshly

Ottawa will stop future arms exports to Israel, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly tells the Toronto Star, a day after Canada’s parliament passed a non-binding motion on the issue.

“It is a real thing,” says Joly, indicating that the move will not just be symbolic.

The motion was part of a larger vote calling on the international community to work toward a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, in line with Canadian government policy.

The original motion was drawn up by the minority left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), who are helping keep Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in power and are unhappy with what they see as his failure to do enough to protect civilians in Gaza.

Last week, Canada said it had paused non-lethal military exports to Israel since January. Trudeau, while asserting Israel’s right to defend itself, has taken an increasingly critical stance over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza after the terror group’s attack on Israel on October 7.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed Canada for the decision.

“I am sorry that the government of Canada is taking this step that undermines Israel’s right to self-defense in the face of Hamas murderers who carried out terrible crimes against humanity and against innocent Israelis, including the elderly, women and children,” he says in a statement.

“History will judge the current acts of Canada harshly,” he says.

Reuters contributed to this post.