Israel arms ban still ‘being refined’

NDP demanding the Liberals clarify what military exports are still being exported to country The measure goes beyond ‘arm’ to include weapon technology and equipment

A senior official in Canada’s foreign service says Ottawa is still sorting out the implications of the government committing to stop future military exports to Israel.

“This is being refined as we speak,” Global Affairs Canada regional head Alexandre Lévêque told senators Wednesday.

Most Liberal MPs joined the NDP in backing a motion Monday calling for an end to new military permits for arms bound for Israel.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada already stopped approving permits for Israel in early January out of human-rights concerns.

Joly’s office says the measure goes beyond “arms” to include weapon technology and equipment.

Lévêque, the Global Affairs Canada assistant deputy minister whose regions include the Middle East, told the Senate foreign affairs committee he wasn’t fully sure how the motion would affect military exports.

That includes the potential impact on dual-use exports — goods that Canada regulates because they can serve both civilian and military purposes — as well as whether Israel must meet any conditions in order for arms sales to resume.

“There are things that are being refined,” Lévêque said.

Ottawa’s aim, he said, “is to limit any exports that could go into arms (and) weapons that could be used directly in the conflict, until we get a better sense of how the very volatile situation on the ground is evolving.”

The motion has caused confusion with the Liberal and NDP caucuses. Some MPs say it amounts to an arms embargo, while others say it maintains a policy that’s been in place for two months. The motion does not freeze existing export permits.

The NDP are demanding the Liberals clarify what military exports are still being exported to Israel. Joly’s office says it has provided a parliamentary committee with the permits approved for Israel since the war on Hamas started on Oct. 7, but those details have not been shared publicly.

Meanwhile, Israel’s envoy would not say whether the motion has anything more than a symbolic impact on his country, but he stressed the vote was “really disturbing for many Israelis.”

Israel’s foreign minister has said the vote will undermine Israel’s ability to defend itself, but ambassador Iddo Moed was circumspect in an interview with the Canadaian Press Wednesday.

“I don’t think that that’s a topic I would like to discuss at the moment,” Moed said.