Elham Asaad Buaras
Canada halted arms sales to Israel on March 18, joining Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy, following a non-binding resolution in parliament.
The governing Liberals have been asked to stop exporting arms to Israel, following a motion introduced by the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP).
The NDP, which supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority administration, has expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s lack of action in Gaza.
The motion, which passed with the support of the Liberals, Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party also calls on the government to work towards establishing a Palestinian state.
The successful 204–117 vote followed a last-minute deal between the Liberals and the NDP, which had previously called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine.”
In a statement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East described the motion as “watered-down,” but said it was a “small step forward in ending Canadian complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.”
Israel’s 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-defence in the face of Hamas murderers who committed terrible crimes against humanity and against innocent Israelis, including the elderly, women, and children,” he said in a statement.
The Canadian government is following in the footsteps of the Netherlands, where a court suspended all shipments of F-35 fighter jets used in the conflict on February 12.
The lawsuit, filed by the Dutch humanitarian organisations Oxfam Novib, PAX Netherlands Peace Movement Foundation, and The Rights Forum, raises similar concerns to those that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently debating in South Africa’s apartheid case against Israel. “It is undeniable that there is a clear risk that exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the court ruling stated.
Belgium’s regional government also cited the ICJ interim ruling, which found Israel may “plausibly” be committing genocide in Gaza in its decision to suspend two licences for the export of gunpowder to Israel on February 6.
Spain and Italy responded even more quickly, declaring in January that they had ceased arms exports to Israel since October 7. Outside of Europe, Japan’s Itochu Corporation announced on February 5 that it would end its partnership with Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems by the end of February.
The Itochu chief financial officer told a news conference that the suspension was based on a request from Japan’s Ministry of Defence and “not in any way related to the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.”
However, he added: “Taking into consideration the International Court of Justice’s order on January 26 and the fact that the Japanese government supports the role of the Court, we have already suspended new activities related to the MOU and plan to end the MOU by the end of February.”
