The Canadian government has announced a suspension of arms sales to Israel. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced the decision to the Toronto Star newspaper on Tuesday (local time).
Israel reacted to the decision with sharp criticism. Next week, Israeli delegations will discuss alternatives to the planned invasion of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip with the US in Washington, which has been heavily criticized internationally.
Government circles in Ottawa said that the situation on site no longer allowed weapons to be exported to Israel. The arms sales permits issued by Canada since the start of the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas five months ago only concerned the export of non-lethal weapons. There have been no more exports since January. In the past, Israel has been a major recipient of Canadian arms exports.
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Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz strongly criticized Canada’s decision. The move “undermines Israel’s right to self-defense once morest Hamas terrorists,” he said. History will judge Canada’s current actions harshly, Katz wrote on the online service X (formerly Twitter).
Amid tensions between Israel and the US over the Gaza war, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is traveling to the US capital Washington next week, the Israeli government confirmed on Wednesday. Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said an Israeli delegation would visit Washington “at the request of US President Joe Biden” to discuss the planned Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
