Montreal, Canada – Canada has declined to remark on a prepared United States sale of Canadian-made weapons to Israel, after news of the offer drew rebuke from rights supporters who argue the arms will assistance fuel Israeli human rights abuses versus Palestinians.
In a quick declaration to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Canada’s foreign affairs department, Global Affairs Canada, stated it “will not hypothesize on a possible Foreign Military Sale by the United States”.
“Since January 8th, the Government of Canada has not authorized brand-new arms export allows to Israel, and this stays the federal federalgovernment’s technique,” it stated.
Canada revealed earlier this year that it would not authorise brand-new export allows for weapons to Israel amidst mass demonstrations over the nation’s war in the Gaza Strip, which hasactually eliminated more than 40,000 Palestinians over almost 11 months.
But rights supporters rapidly keptinmind that Canada has not withdrawed existing arms export allows, nor would the restriction affect Canadian weapons and elements that veryfirst go to the UnitedStates before they are delivered to Israel.
Those transfers to the UnitedStates are challenging to track duetothefactthat of a decades-old preferential trade relationship that enables the North American neighbours to more quickly exchange armedforce weapons and associated parts.
Last Tuesday, the UnitedStates’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) revealed that a business based in the Canadian province of Quebec would be the primary professional in a possible offer to sendout $61.1m in munitions to Israel.
The business, called General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc, is set to supply 10s of thousands of “M933A1 120mm High Explosive Mortar Cartridges and associated devices”, the firm stated in a declaration. Deliveries are anticipated to start in 2026.
Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), an advocacy group, informed Al Jazeera that the Canadian federalgovernment “has a duty” to stop the delivery.
“If Canada is going to purposefully enable weapons to be moved to Israel while it declares to be stopping this sort of thing, it simply damages their whole trustworthiness,” he stated.
Bueckert included that, with professionals implicating Israel of devoting “genocide” in Gaza, it likewise “shows that they’re more interested in public relations than taking action to avoid complicity in genocide”.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), another advocacy group, likewise advised Canada to avoid the transfer.
“Any choice otherwise would render the Government’s earlier weapon allows restriction to endedupbeing moot,” its CEO,