Israel-Hamas war: Canada to halt arms sales to Israel; UK deputy PM calls for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza

Canada will halt future arms sales to Israel, said the country’s foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly, on Tuesday (Mar 19) following a non-binding vote in the House of Commons. Meanwhile, Britain’s deputy prime minister defended Israel’s right to protect itself while calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza on humanitarian grounds.

Canada to halt arms sales to Israel

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Joly confirmed that her government would halt future arms shipments to Israel after a parliamentary motion, introduced by the New Democratic Party (NDP), passed 204-117.

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The NDP, which supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government, introduced the motion following frustration over what they said was his failure to do enough to protect civilians in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The motion passedMonday (Mar 18) night after a last-minute deal between Trudeau’s Liberal Party and the NDP. The Canadian government previously said that it had paused issuing military export permits to Israel and it would be assessing applications on “a case-by-case basis”.

After the motion was passed, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, a lobby group, called it “misguided” as it does not “effectively address the humanitarian crisis” in Gaza or “liberate Gazans from the tyrannical rule” of Hamas.

Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, the Trudeau government has asserted Israel’s right to defend itself but has eventually grown critical of its current assault on Gaza.

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In November, the Canadian PM, in his first sharp criticism of Israel since the beginning of the war, urged the Israeli government to “exercise maximum restraint” and said the “killing of women, of children, of babies” must stop.

Britain’s deputy PM defends Israel

The United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, on Tuesday, said that Israel has a right to protect itself, amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompting mounting international criticism of the Israeli government’s assault on the Palestinian enclave.

Dowden said that the British government is “continuously” urging Israel to abide by international humanitarian law and raised concerns about getting aid into Gaza.

“That’s why we are calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow that aid in, and crucially, the hostages to come out,” he told the news agency Reuters.

The United Nations human rights chiefVolker Türkon Tuesday said Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza may amount to a starvation tactic and could be a war crime.

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The UK deputy PM went on to stress his support for Israel, saying there is a risk that the world is forgetting the horrors of October 7, when Hamas launched attacks and according to Israeli officials killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

“I continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself, not only for the sake of Israel but also I think around the world we should be standing up to this kind of barbarism,” said Dowden.

Subsequently, he also noted that Israel should “show restraint and proportionality in the way that they prosecute the legitimate war against Hamas.”

(With inputs from agencies)