Netanyahu slams Canadian PM for appearing to back protester's Gaza 'genocide' claim

Mark Carney asserts he did not hear the word ‘genocide’ and was ‘stating a fact in terms of the arms restrictions’ that Canada has imposed on Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday condemned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for appearing 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,” wrote Netanyahu on X, urging his Canadian counterpart to “backtrack [his] irresponsible statement!”

The post replied to a video showing Carney at a Tuesday night rally in Calgary, where he responded to a protester in the crowd who yelled, “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 had not heard the word “genocide,” and was only “stating a fact in terms of the arms restrictions,” according to CBC.

He explained that during the noisy rally ahead of the April 28 election, “You hear snippets of what people say and I heard Gaza, and my point was I’m aware of the situation in Gaza.”

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.

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

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. He replaced Justin Trudeau, first elected as premier in 2015, who Jewish leaders heavily criticized for his stances on the Gaza war and handling of the surging antisemitism in Canada following the Hamas-led atrocities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.