Montreal, December 19, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to demand that Turkey and Israel stop taking illegal advantage of the power vacuum created by the fall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria. CJPME calls on Canada to demand that Israel withdraw from its so-called “buffer zone” around the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and to demand that Turkey not use the power vacuum to wreak violence against Kurds in Syria. CJPME argues that an arms embargo against both countries would both send an important message in support of international law and Syrian sovereignty and have a substantive impact on both aggressors.
“After over a decade of civil war, Syrians finally have an opportunity to begin a new era, one which can hopefully include governance that adheres to international law,” said Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME. “Canada must strongly dissuade Israel and Turkey from using this transition period as an opportunity to fulfill their own regional ambitions.”
Since the fall of Al-Assad on December 8, Israel has invaded sovereign Syrian territory, breaching its borders and militarily occupying 400 square kilometres, in the process breaking its peace treaty with Syria. At the same time, Israel announced plans to double its population of illegal settlers in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Since 1967, Canada and most of the international community have rejected Israel’s claims to permanent control of the Golan Heights, and Israel’s most recent military advances have been widely condemned. Additionally, Israel has destroyed the majority of the Syrian army’s assets such that Israel retains regional military dominance for the foreseeable future.
Israel’s actions in Syria have been condemned by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who warned that Israel’s new “buffer zone” and its airstrikes on Syria are violations of the country’s sovereignty and must stop. In comparison, CJPME is concerned with the relative silence of Canada regarding this illegal Israeli aggression against the Syrian people and the destruction of territory and assets rightfully owned by them. CJPME points out that earlier this month, Canada voted against a resolution at the UN General Assembly which called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan, just prior to Israel’s more recent territorial advances.
Further, CJPME is alarmed that Canada has been completely silent regarding the ambitions of Turkey to use the latest developments to attempt to weaken the Kurdish freedom movement. CJPME implores Canada to take a balanced approach to the aftermath of the Syrian crisis so that there are no double standards in the prosecution of war criminals in the civil war. “Canada needs to stand up for international law and peaceful transition in Syria – that means refusing to arm countries which are violating Syrian sovereignty and human rights,” said Woodley. “Canada has long needed to impose an arms embargo on Israel, and needs to renew its recently suspended arms embargo on Turkey to protect the Kurds in Syria.”
In 2019, Canada ended arms sales with Turkey over its involvement in Syria, but removed that arms embargo in 2024 in a backroom deal related to Sweden’s NATO membership. Canada’s annual report for 2023 arms sales shows that Israel continues to be the top non-US destination in terms of the number of utilized export permits for military goods and technology, with 348 permits utilized in 2023. Similar to previous years, the top categories of military goods were categorized as explosives or related components ($10,458,545) or related to military spacecraft ($13,059,723) and military aircraft ($4,368,437), while other important categories relate to vessels of war, ground vehicles, firearms and accessories. These are all items likely to be used in the air invasion of Syria in addition to Israel’s violations of international law in Palestine and Lebanon.