OTTAWA, (PIC)
Canada will ban all arms shipments to Israel, foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday.
The move comes after lawmakers voted 204 – 117 in favor of a non-binding motion to stop the weapons sales to Israel after a lengthy debate on Monday.
“It’s a real thing,” Joly told The Toronto Star newspaper. The original motion was for a weapons sales suspension but that was changed to a total ban.
Also included in the motion was a clause that called for support of the eventual “establishment of the State of Palestine” in concert with Canada’s international partners.
Canada had earlier placed a temporary suspension on export permits for military goods and technology sent to Israel, and there was some confusion already as Global Affairs Canada continued to receive applications on arms exports to Israel and they were reviewed on a case-to-case basis, the Star reported.
However, Joly insisted that after the Monday vote calling for the arms ban, the government decided to honor the pledge.
Canadian defense minister Bill Blair said Joly would decide how the ban is enforced.
