Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz denounced Canada’s decision to suspend future arms exports to Israel, saying “history will judge” the Western nation for reneging on its support for Israel amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
Canadian foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly announced Tuesday that the Trudeau-led government would stop sending weapons to Israel, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The decision comes one day after the Canadian parliament passed a nonbinding motion intended to limit military aid to Israel and back a two-state solution.
“It is a real thing,” Joly told the Toronto Star, confirming the motion.
Katz condemned the move, saying it “undermines Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas terrorists.”
“History will judge Canada’s current action harshly. Israel will continue to fight until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned home,” Katz wrote on X, tagging Joly in the post.
Canada’s statement comes as public opinion among Western leaders regarding the Jewish state shifts as the Israeli military continues its offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, displacing nearly 2 million civilians in the Palestinian territory. The United Nations and anti-Israel groups allege that Israel is indiscriminately killing Palestinians and limiting humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Earlier this month, pro-Palestinian and human-rights advocates sued Canada to prevent the transfer of military exports to Israel, arguing that those arms could be used to violate international law and commit violence against women and children. The lawsuit likely prompted Canada’s recent decision.
Similarly, Denmark was sued last week by a group of Danish non-governmental organizations to end its arms exports to Israel. Meanwhile, a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands last month to cease its exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, ruling that those components could be used to violate international law.
On Monday, Canada’s parliamentary motion called on the international community to pursue a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, although the motion’s revised language removed official recognition of a Palestinian state. Despite the last-minute change, the amended motion passed with a final vote of 204–117.
Before the vote, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said he told Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on the phone that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state “is counter-productive to the mutual goal of long-term regional security and stability, and would ultimately reward terrorism,” Gantz posted on X.