Netanyahu slams Canadian PM Carney after he appears to back protester’s Gaza ‘genocide’ claim

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns a comment made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that appeared to support a protester’s claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza during its ongoing war against the Hamas terror group.

“Instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, [Carney] attacks the one and only Jewish state,” writes the prime minister on X, urging his Canadian counterpart to “backtrack [his] irresponsible statement!”

Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney. But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state. Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible… https://t.co/27ZcXjew85

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 10, 2025

The post replies to a video showing Carney at a Tuesday night rally in Calgary, where he responds to a protester in the crowd who yells “Mr. Carney, there is a genocide happening in Palestine,” by pausing and saying “Thank you…I’m aware. Which is why we have an arms embargo.”

At a campaign stop in Calgary on Wednesday, Carney clarified his remarks, saying that he hadn’t heard the word “genocide,” and was only “stating a fact in terms of the arms restrictions,” CBC news reports.

He explained that during the noisy rally, “You hear snippets of what people say and I heard Gaza, and my point was I’m aware of the situation in Gaza,” according to the report.

Ottawa announced in March 2024 a stop to all future arms exports to Israel, in a motion that 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.

In September, Canada suspended some 30 permits for arms shipments to Israel.

Carney, a former central banker and the new leader of the Liberal Party, was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister in March, replacing Justin Trudeau, who had led Canada since 2015.