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Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Business
- Middle East Eye
Canada never stopped arming Israel despite pledge to halt new permits, report says
The Canadian government misled the public when it said it was pausing all new weapons export permits to Israel last year, a new report published on Tuesday says. Commercially available data has shown shipments not only continued but were actually fast-tracked - and sometimes via indirect routes such as through the US. The findings, compiled by an all-volunteer team from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and the groups World Beyond War and Arms Embargo Now, point to efforts by Ottawa to placate an electorate that has expressed growing dissatisfaction with how the Liberal Party has responded to Israel's war on Gaza - but without actually reversing its policy of unconditional support for Israel, as it publicly pledged. "Shipments of arms to Israel were allowed to proceed under hundreds of previously approved permits. This communications ploy allowed Canadian companies to continue to profit from Israel's genocide while the Federal government misled Canadians into believing they were no longer arming the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza," the authors wrote in the report. The 58-page document entitled "Exposing Canadian Military Exports to Israel" cites more than 390 shipments from 21 Canadian manufacturers in six cities that included more than 420,000 bullets, 735 cartridge parts (ammunition sets for firearms), F-35 jet parts such as navigation sensors, radar systems, and dual-use items like GPS antennas. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The deadliest weapons and military support systems came from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Stelia Aerospace North America, and Pratt & Whitney, among others, which delivered support systems such as surveillance and tracking technology, as well as landing gear for aircraft. The authors say they used two complementary methodologies for the first time to track Canadian arms exports: commercial shipping data crosschecked with Israeli Tax Authority import data from October 2023 to May 2025. "[The report] exposes a vastly different reality than government claims: a continuous, massive pipeline of Canadian weapons flowing directly to Israel," the authors said. Canada's Mark Carney derided online for vision of 'Zionist Palestinian state' Read More » "By continuing to send arms transfers to Israel, Canada is violating both domestic law and its commitments under international law," they continued. Middle East Eye reached out to Global Affairs Canada, the foreign ministry, but was not given a response by the time of publication. Israel has killed over 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. And since March, it has imposed a crippling siege on the enclave that has led to a declaration of famine by the world's top food and aid bodies. "Canada must urgently impose a full two-way arms embargo on Israel. This requires canceling all active arms export permits, closing loopholes for US transfers, banning surveillance and dual-use technology, and canceling all contracts and planned purchases of military goods from Israel," the report urged. The F-35 programme A key finding in the report is that parts made in Canada by three main companies routinely make up at least $2.1m of every F-35 fighter jet - the most sophisticated and highly sought-after fifth-generation fighter jet, designed in the US by Lockheed Martin. Beyond its Nato and G7 partners and Australia, no other country in the world has access to these stealth aircraft except Israel. "Canadian components, we've known for a long time, are critical in constructing the F-35," Yara Shoufani, a PYM organiser, told MEE. The three named manufacturers in Canada are Stelia, which makes composite panels and precision structural parts for the jets; CMC, which makes Doppler Velocity Sensors for target precision; and Nexeya, which supplies Modular Product Testers to ensure jets are combat-ready, the report showed. Almost all these parts ended up at Elbit Systems. 'Elbit, as a weapons manufacturer, has really come to be seen across the world as synonymous with genocide' - Yara Shoufani, Palestinian Youth Movement "This is really concerning when you think about the fact that Elbit, as a weapons manufacturer, has really come to be seen across the world as synonymous with genocide," Shoufani said. "For the Canadian government to be allowing for these manufacturers based in Canada to be sending weapon components to Israel's largest weapon manufacturer is something that should really raise alarms." On 13 July 2024, Israel deployed an F-35 fighter jet to drop three 2,000-pound bombs on al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, an area of southern Gaza it had explicitly designated a 'safe zone'. At least 90 Palestinians were killed, and another 300 were wounded in the attack. The report cited the bombing as an example of the damage only this particular fighter jet is capable of doing. While the F-35's "ongoing operability relies on a complex international supply chain," the report said, "the F-35 cannot conduct air strikes without Canadian parts". How do the weapons get to Israel? Canadian weapons exports were traced by the authors to major Israeli firms such as Elta Systems and Snunit Aviation, in addition to the main recipient, Elbit Systems. The Canadian minister of foreign affairs is ultimately responsible for signing off on the export permits to any foreign entity, and they are typically valid for at least two to three years from the date of approval, the report showed. The authors of the report wrote that the flow of military goods between Canada and Israel operates in two ways: direct commercial exports from Canadian companies to Israel, and indirect exports where Canadian arms are shipped to Israel through transfers via the United States. The latter allows Canada to exploit a loophole that exempts it from its permitting requirements, which stipulate that no military support can be provided to countries potentially involved in war crimes. Palestine Action 'shut down' Elbit Systems HQ and subcontractor Read More » Shoufani added that out of the 100 direct shipments that they were able to identify, there were 67 times where military cargo was loaded onto passenger planes. "So here we're talking about major airlines like Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, Air Transat, where essentially components are being loaded onto planes that have passengers headed to holiday destinations," Shoufani said. Among the airlines involved in carrying Canadian-made weapons and support parts to Israel since 7 October 2023 is Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi. The report identified at least four such flights by Etihad. Canada also imports Israeli military technology and hardware, the report pointed out, including weapons that have been deployed against Palestinians and are in turn marketed to the government of Canada as 'battle-tested' and 'combat-proven". A survey commissioned by the National Council of Canadian Muslims in March, a year and a half into the war on Gaza that scholars and human rights groups have now termed a genocide, showed that 55 percent of respondents want to see arms transfers to Israel suspended. There was a similar amount of support for backing the International Criminal Court and arresting officials with outstanding warrants if they come to Canada, namely Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.
National Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Ori Freiman: CUPE has no business cheering for Iran
On Sunday afternoon, extremists met in front of the United States consulate in Toronto for a 'Hands Off Iran' rally. It was planned by several organizations, among them the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) of Ontario, before the U.S. army bombed the nuclear sites of Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan last weekend, dismantling the Islamic Republic's nuclear enrichment capabilities. Article content Article content While a debate over American military intervention is expected in the current Canadian climate, what made this rally notable was its union backing. Article content Article content Article content Prior to the rally, a promotional flyer was circulated on social media by the radical Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM); along the bottom were the logos of CUPE Ontario, PYM, SPRING Magazine and others. Immediately, the media picked up on it. Facing national outrage, CUPE Ontario pledged support for the rally in a statement released June 17, adding that the flyer in question was an 'early unapproved draft version.' Article content On June 20, the national branch of CUPE released a statement declaring itself an 'anti-war union'; it didn't address the 'Hands Off Iran' rally directly, but it did declare 'solidarity with workers in Iran' while denouncing human rights abuses in the country. Article content 'CUPE calls on Canada to unequivocally condemn the escalating attacks between Israel and Iran, oppose President Trump's reckless threats of nuclear war, and state plainly Canada's intent to pursue diplomatic solutions and opposition to military conflict in the region,' it concluded. Article content For a number of reasons, CUPE's statements weren't just damage control, but a masterclass in deception. Article content First, CUPE Ontario organized the rally in collaboration with PYM, an effective proxy for the Iranian regime in Canada that openly celebrated the October 7 massacre and has called for intifada on Canadian streets. When this is the union's chosen partner to promote a protest, it is certainly not an anti-war rally — even if it's labelled that way — but a hate rally. Article content Second, by declaring itself an 'anti-war union,' as it did in its recent statement, the national branch of CUPE played its members for fools. The Islamic Republic of Iran, an Islamic theocracy, is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism; it funds a global network of proxies, some of which might be sleeper cells here. One can only hope our national security agencies are paying very close attention. Article content Third, both statements conveniently overlooked Iran's decades-long, openly genocidal chants of 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to America,' and ignored last month's report from the International Atomic Energy Agency that the regime has enough material for multiple nuclear warheads. A nuclear bomb within the grasp of religious fanatics who promise to use it has nothing to do with peace. When CUPE's leadership runs cover for extremist theocrats, they make a mockery of peace while betraying their members with foreign propaganda.
National Post
17-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
FIRST READING: Anti-Israel activists beg their 'genocidal' government for rescue
The message was a sharp contrast from earlier this year, when Palestine Vivra Montreal had endorsed a campaign to harass Canadian MPs at their constituency offices. In March, Palestine Vivra's official Instagram account promoted the 'Chase your MPs campaign' with the slogan, 'If we don't get no justice, they don't get no peace.' Article content Palestinian Youth Movement, one of Canada's most active organizers of anti-Israel blockades and protests, was also urging supporters to petition the Canadian government for help. Article content In a Sunday ' emergency call to action,' they provided contact information for Canada's Egyptian embassy and for Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. Article content That would be the same Anand who only a few weeks ago had her offices targeted by Palestinian Youth Movement picketers accusing her of complicity in genocide. Article content In April, PYM protestors also attempted to forcibly obstruct a fundraiser featuring Anand, declaring 'they do not get to fundraise to run their campaigns in peace during this election period.' Article content Article content At the core of Canada-India tensions is the belief by New Delhi that Canada is a haven for violent Khalistani extremists, a fear that stretches all the way back to the 1980s, when B.C.-based Khalistani terrorists perpetrated the Air India bombing. This perception probably wasn't helped by the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to touch down in Alberta for the G7 soon after Calgary was hit by Khalistani rallies featuring violent imagery. On Monday, a rally in Downtown Calgary featured Khalistan flags and placards with Modi's head framed in the crosshairs of a gun. Independent journalist Mocha Bezirgan interviewed the leader of a convoy of vehicles flying Khalistani flags, who spoke of the convoy's goals to 'kill Modi politics' and 'ambush Modi.' Article content G7: Khalistanis Across North America Meet in Calgary to Ambush and Kill India's PM's Politics 'Yes, I am ready to kill Modi politics, [to] ambush Modi,' said Manjinder Singh, leading the convoy from Gurdwara Dashmesh in Calgary. '[He] is an enemy of Canada, this Hindu terrorist… — Mocha Bezirgan 🇨🇦 (@BezirganMocha) June 16, 2025 Article content An unidentified private pilot may have narrowly cheated death after he flew too close to the G7 summit and was targeted by 'final warning' flares fired from RCAF CF-18s … the last step before being shot down. Article content Article content
Ya Libnan
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
UK is still providing arms to Israel for Gaza genocide, report
UK government providing weapons for Gaza genocide despite formal suspension of arms exports to Israel Analysis of trade data shows that despite the UK government suspending export licenses to Israel, the UK arms industry continues to export military equipment, including munitions. Research indicates that 14 shipments of military items have left the UK for Israel since October 2023, including 13 by air to Ben Gurion airport and one maritime delivery to Haifa that alone contained 160,000 items. Since September 2024, 8,630 items were exported under the category 'bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof—other'. The Starmer Labour government suspended 30 arms export licences in September last year. But research reveals that from October 2023 to March 2025, the UK sent armaments to Israel including F-35 fighter jet parts. Arms manufacturers in the UK engineer approximately 15 percent of every F-35 and there have been multiple shipments of F-35 components from the UK to Israel since the destruction of Gaza began. The F-35 is a multi-role stealth combat fighter, widely used by the Israeli air force since 2017. Israeli F-35 jets have been used to kill tens of thousands of people in Iran, Yemen, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. F-35s have accumulated over 15,000 operational flight hours since October 2023, participating in the genocide across Gaza and hundreds more deadly raids across the Middle East The Israeli air force has deployed F-35's utilising 'Beast Mode', whereby heavier bomb loads including 2,000-pound bombs are carried on underwing pylons. In July 2024, for instance, an Israeli F-35 dropped three 2,000-pound bombs on a camp for displaced people in Gaza's Al Mawasi, killing at least 90 Palestinians. The research revealing the ongoing arms trade, Exposing UK Arms Exports to Israel, was conducted by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Progressive International, and Workers for a Free Palestine. The research findings were released on May 7, a day when at least 92 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, including a strike on a market and restaurants and another targeting a school sheltering displaced people in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood. The PYM researchers reviewed import data published by the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) covering the period from October 2023 to March 2025. Licensing data published by the UK's Export Control Joint Unit of the Department for Business and Trade was also scrutinised. Analysis of data generated by the ITA highlights a wide range of shipments of military goods, munitions, arms, and aircraft parts from the UK to Israel. The Labour government's suspension of 30 arms export licences for offensive use in Gaza left 200 arms licences in place. It also included an exception for F-35 parts, saying national security required that the F-35 supply chain remain intact with nothing being allowed to get in the way of NATO's war on Russia. The suspensions were said to be due to a clear risk that Israel 'might' use the arms to commit serious breaches of international humanitarian law. Ministers have repeatedly assured that the arms export licences remaining in place did not cover materials for use in Gaza. The Foreign Office has not published details of what the continuing licences cover. The PYM research reveals what the continuance of 200 arms export licences has allowed Israel to import. The Israeli tax authority data provides a code number identifying the type of export, details on country of origin, the value of the items, the month shipped and whether transported by land or sea. Neither the supplier nor customer is listed. The data show shipments of military goods, munitions of war, and arms or arms parts falling under classifications of:
National Post
11-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Barbara Kay: The credulously pro-terror members of Mark Carney's caucus
Article content Palestinianism's umbrella narrative is that Zionism is an inherently racist ideology. Drawing on that premise, pro-Zionist expression may be legislated as hate speech, but the glorification of Hamas 'martyrs' and calls for the eradication of Israel should not be. (When Bill C-63, the online harms act, is revived, they may get their wish.) Article content Vote Palestine's strategy, according to one of its Instagram posts, is to 'force Palestine onto the debate stage through nationwide visibility' and shame political actors who do not endorse its platform. Article content Leading PYM activist Yara Shoufani, who has a long rap sheet of anti-Israel extremism, explained on a podcast how 'pressure is applied' by PYM foot soldiers within ridings to non-endorsing candidates. They 'make it impossible to organize fundraising events … impossible for those MPs to canvass without being met by someone from within the community asking, 'Why are you not supporting an arms embargo?' ' she said. Article content Shoufani seems proud that PYM has managed to, in her words, 'create a kind of crisis within the Canadian electoral system.' And all of this, fellow Canadians, is what 362 candidates — not a single one of them Conservative — signed onto. Article content Article content At 1.8 million and growing, Muslims constitute around five per cent of Canada's population. The Canadian Muslim Vote, a nonprofit, estimates that Muslims hold significant influence in between 60-80 of 343 ridings. Article content According to Joe Adam George, lead researcher for Islamist threats in Canada at the Middle East Forum, 'Islamists have been working overtime' to see 'their favoured party,' the Liberals, re-elected, 'so that the good times keep rolling for them for at least another four years.' Article content Credulous candidates' greed for Muslim votes is understandable. Which is why it is so important in these matters that savvy political leaders provide a backstop to their candidates' lack of judgment in collaborating with what essentially amounts to foreign interference in the election. Article content
