Montreal, September 25, 2024 — Three days into a murderous Israeli offensive against Lebanon, and following the killing of two Canadians in Lebanon by an Israeli airstrike, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is scandalized that Canada has still failed to call for a ceasefire. CJPME points out that under the UN Charter there is no provision that allows for a country to bombard its neighbour. And while both Israel and Hezbollah have launched attacks against one another, the BBC reported in July that between 8 October 2023 and 5 July 2024, Israel had carried out over 6000 attacks in Lebanon, about five times the number of Hezbollah attacks on Israel. CJPME considers that unless the Trudeau government is happy to see growing casualty numbers in Lebanon – currently at more than 600 dead – it should immediately pressure our allies the US and Israel bring an end to the violence.

“Canada’s failure to condemn Israel’s belligerence as it drags the region deeper into war is outrageous and morally despicable,” asserted Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME. CJPME points out that, following Oct. 7, 2023, it took Canada months before calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. “The past year has revealed the Trudeau government’s indifference to wanton slaughter and destruction, first with Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and now with its devastating bombardment of Lebanon.” 

Two days into the bombardment, Israel said it had already struck 1600 sites in Lebanon. Yet in the government’s only pronouncement on the situation, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly tweeted, “We need urgent de-escalation at the border between Israel and Lebanon to prevent a devastating catastrophe.” And while she suggested that the “protection of civilians in Lebanon, Israel and across the region must be priority,” there was no evidence she had pushed for a ceasefire with her counterparts in Lebanon and Israel.

CJPME is also concerned that any ceasefire resolution that eventually makes it to the floor of the UN Security Council will be vetoed by the US. Israel’s allies – including Canada under both the Harper and Trudeau governments – have frequently undermined calls on Israel for a ceasefire, preferring to let Israel’s bellicosity run its course and destroy lives and livelihoods. CJPME suggests that even if Canada is not at the table for a possible Security Council vote on a ceasefire, it must pressure its US allies to let such a vote pass. “Even if Israel will not heed the condemnation of international opinion, its aggression against its neighbours must not be ignored or condoned,” added Woodley. 

CJPME also reiterates its call for Canada to immediately impose a full Arms Embargo on Israel using the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA). SEMA was created to enable Canada to take economic measures against states which commit grave breaches of international peace, and/or gross and systematic human rights violations. Since January, Canada claims to have paused the approval of all new arms export permits to Israel, and has suspended about 30 existing permits However, as of August, nearly $95m of military goods had been approved to ship to Israel by the end of 2025. CJPME urges Canada to implement a full two-way arms embargo to ensure that Canadian military goods and technology are not used by Israel to target civilians in Gaza or Lebanon.