A settler accused of killing a Palestinian activist is to be freed. Israel still holds the body
The video shot by a Palestinian witness shows Yinon Levi brandishing a pistol and tussling with a group of unarmed Palestinians. He can be seen firing two shots, but the video does not show where the bullets hit.
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Toronto Sun
29 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
The controversy over Canada's rules on military exports to Israel, explained
Published Aug 10, 2025 • 7 minute read Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, facilitator of the Independent Senators Group, speaks to reporters after the vote on Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act in the Senate on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Photo by Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — A Canadian senator is calling on Ottawa to be more transparent on its policy to restrict arms exports to Israel, following contradictory reports about what manufacturers have been allowed to send to the Middle East. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'I'm horrified to hear this news about certain arms exports and parts going to Israel, directly or indirectly,' Sen. Yuen Pau Woo said in an interview with The Canadian Press. 'Civilians are being killed and starved, and the Israeli government has only made things worse.' Ottawa insists it hasn't been allowing exports of lethal weapons to Israel and has been blocking any military goods that could be used in Gaza. Here's a look at what we know — and don't know — about Ottawa's efforts to keep Canadian weapons out of Gaza while allowing Israel to import military goods for other purposes. What is Canada holding back from Israel? In March 2024, Parliament voted in favour of a non-binding motion to halt new arms permits for Israel. The government announced a review of export permits and suspended about 30 of them to determine whether they involved lethal uses. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ottawa has allowed all other military export permits for Israel to continue. There were 164 such permits used to export military goods to Israel in 2024, and some of them are valid for years. Of the 30 suspended permits, some have expired and the rest remain suspended, says Global Affairs Canada. In March 2024, the office of then-foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly said that none of the valid permits allowed for the export of 'lethal goods' to Israel, such as weapons technology and equipment. Her office also said Canada stopped approving permits for Israel on Jan. 8, 2024, citing human rights concerns. While Israel's foreign minister suggested at the time the decision would undermine Israel's ability to defend itself, Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed said 'we will be able to continue to defend ourselves.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. What is Canada still allowing into Israel? Ottawa has said its restrictions exclude 'non-lethal' equipment. The government provided Parliament with a list of all existing permits in June 2024. The list mentions circuit boards well over a hundred times. In September 2024, after the U.S. State Department approved the purchase of mortar cartridges made in Quebec for Israel, Joly said Canadian-made weapons were prohibited from reaching the Gaza Strip. 'We will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza, period,' Joly said at the time. 'How they're being sent and where they're being sent is irrelevant.' Anand said in an Aug. 1 statement that this pledge actually goes back to January 2024. Groups like Project Ploughshares argue the term 'non-lethal' is poorly defined and misleading. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Activists say Israel can use Canadian-made components such as lenses and cameras in the Gaza war and in military campaigns in the West Bank, despite Ottawa saying Israel is violating international law in both theatres. What does Israeli customs data say? In late July, pro-Palestinian activists reported that the Israel Tax Authority had listed publicly imports from Canada that were officially recorded in customs data as bullets, guns and other weapons. The data suggested 175,000 bullets were sent from Canada to Israel under the customs code that Israel uses for 'munitions of war and parts thereof,' with three similar shipments in 2024. Israeli customs agents recorded another Canadian shipment in the category of 'tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, motorized, whether or not fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It took the Canadian government three days to respond to the claims. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand's office said it took the time 'to verify if any of the serious allegations of wrongdoing were true.' In her reply, Anand said the report was flawed and its findings 'are misleading and significantly misrepresent the facts.' The bullets were 'paintball-style projectiles' that cannot be used in combat, Anand's office said. Sen. Woo called that explanation trivializing and suggested Israel is likely using those materials to train its soldiers. Woo was among 32 senators — a third of the Senate — who called for a thorough investigation into what's reaching Israel from Canada. He called Anand's statement 'very limited, slippery and highly defensive.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'She missed an opportunity to grasp the gravity of the situation in Gaza,' he said. What about aircraft? Advocates argue Canadian components are being used in Israeli fighter jets and drones, citing exports of items such as circuit boards and scopes or cameras. The July report noted that specific companies in Israel receiving Canadian imports have also been equipping Israel's offensive in Gaza. The report pointed to no direct, explicit evidence that Canadian arms had been used on the ground in Gaza. Ottawa insists it is doing everything it can to ensure Canadian components aren't used in Gaza. What about that parliamentary report? On Aug. 4, the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council released a report assembled by the Library of Parliament that it said disproves much of what the government has claimed. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The July 8 report is marked 'not to be published' and the Library of Parliament said in a statement that it 'provides impartial customized research services for individual parliamentarians,' on the basis that the 'client's research request (will) remain confidential.' The government says the report is a rehash of publicly available information that doesn't contradict what the government has said publicly. Advocates seized on the portion of the report showing two arms permits to send goods to Israel were issued in 2024. Anand's office noted the permits were disclosed to Parliament last June and were issued on Jan. 8, 2024, the day Ottawa stopped issuing new permits. The advocates also noted that the report cited $2.3 million in Canadian sales to Israel listed as 'bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles, other explosive devices and charges and related accessories, components and equipment.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Anand's spokesman James Fitz-Morris wrote that these were 'electronic components for detection equipment' in Israel's Iron Dome system, which intercepts and destroys incoming rockets. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Did Carney change the Trudeau government's policy? While the government insists it hasn't changed policies, its language has shifted. Joly and her office spoke about non-lethal uses for arms. Anand has avoided that language. 'For a year and a half, we have been clear: if an export permit for an item used to protect civilians is requested, it will be approved,' her office wrote in a statement this week. 'Canada has not approved the export of any lethal weapons or munitions to Israel since January 2024, and any such permit that could have allowed such items were suspended and remains inactive today.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Woo said Anand is 'prevaricating, with the shift in language and … an effort to try to be legalistic about the government's adherence to its own promise.' Fitz-Morris wrote that it would be 'a disingenuous claim, at best' to suggest Ottawa's language has been shifting. 'The government's position has not changed. Minister Anand is not reading from a script. She uses different words sometimes to convey the same message or to add clarity, depending on the circumstances and what she is responding to,' he wrote. 'The only permits that may be granted are for the items used to defend civilians, such as the Iron Dome, and items that are transiting through Israel as part of the global supply chain such as items (whose) end-users include Canada and/or NATO allies.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Why not end all arms exports to Israel? The government says it would compromise the complex supply chains that Canada and its allies rely on if Canada refused to export military goods to Israel, or to import them from that country. 'Any consideration of a two-way arms embargo that would block Israeli-made components from entering Canada would need to take into consideration the impact that would have on Canada, including the (Canadian Armed Forces),' Fitz-Morris wrote. Sen. Woo said Anand should halt all military trade with Israel. 'She's digging a deeper hole for herself and for our government, particularly if there are in fact legal consequences around complicity, aiding and abetting war crimes,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We are witnessing, in the memorable words of Amnesty International, a live-streamed genocide. It's tearing at our souls.' Israel says it's in an existential war of self-defence and blames Hamas for the high casualty count. What do Canadians want? In an online survey of 1,522 Canadians conducted by the Angus Reid Institute from July 31 to Aug. 5, 54 per cent said they want Ottawa to ensure Canada is not selling lethal military equipment to Israel. One-fifth of respondents said they want the restrictions dropped. Another 27 per cent said they were unsure or opted not to respond. Is the government being transparent? 'The Government of Canada tables regular reports concerning arms exports and has provided thousands of pages of documentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs — which the committee then published to its website,' Fitz-Morris wrote. That's not good enough, Woo said. 'To play with words, when a genocide is happening before our very eyes … it's scandalous,' he said. Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Sports Sunshine Girls
Toronto Sun
29 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Taliban investigating death threats against United Nations' Afghan female staff, report says
Published Aug 10, 2025 • 3 minute read The UN flag flies on a stormy day at the United Nations during the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22, 2022. Photo by Ted Shaffrey / AP ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban are investigating explicit death threats against dozens of Afghan women working for the United Nations, according to a report published Sunday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In its latest update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the U.N. mission to the country said that dozens of female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats in May. The threats come against a backdrop of severe restrictions placed on women since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The U.N. report said the threats came from unidentified individuals related to their work with the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, other agencies, funds, and programs, 'requiring the U.N. to implement interim measures to protect their safety.' It said that the Taliban told the U.N. mission that their personnel were not responsible for the threats. An Interior Ministry investigation is underway, the report added. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Interior Ministry spokesman, Abdul Mateen Qani, said no such threats had been made. 'This is completely incorrect,' Qani said. 'The ministry has an independent department for this, and we have a strategic plan for protection and security so there is no threat to them in any area, nor can anyone threaten them, nor is there any threat to them.' Qani did not answer questions about an investigation. The Taliban barred Afghan women from working at domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations in December 2022, extending this ban to the U.N. six months later, and then threatening to shut down agencies and groups still employing women. Some women have nonetheless stayed on in key sectors, such as health care and urgent humanitarian assistance, where aid agencies say the needs are great. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Humanitarian agencies say the Taliban have hampered or interfered with their operations, allegations denied by authorities. The U.N. report is the first official confirmation of death threats against Afghan women working in the sector. The report also highlighted other areas affecting women's personal freedoms and safety. In Herat, inspectors from the Vice and Virtue Ministry began requiring women to wear a chador, a full-body cloak covering the head. Dozens of women deemed 'not in compliance' were barred from entering markets or using public transportation. Several women were detained until relatives brought them a chador, the report said. In Uruzgan, women were arrested for wearing a hijab — a headscarf — rather than a burqa covering the entire body and face. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Women have also been denied access to public areas, in line with laws banning them from such spaces. In Ghor province, police forced several families to leave a recreational area. They warned the families against visiting outdoor picnic sites with women. In Herat, Vice and Virtue inspectors stopped family groups with women and girls from accessing an open recreational area, only allowing all-male groups. Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available to comment on the Ghor, Herat and Uruzgan incidents, which the U.N. said happened in May. In Kandahar, the Public Health Department instructed female health care workers to be accompanied to work by male guardians with an identification card proving that they were related to the woman by blood or marriage. It wasn't immediately clear if the card is specific to Kandahar or will be rolled out across Afghanistan. 'The process to apply for a mahram (male guardian) identification card is reportedly cumbersome and can take up to several weeks as it requires the de facto Department for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and a member of the local community (e.g. malik, imam or village elder) to verify the relationship,' the U.N. report said. Columnists Columnists Sunshine Girls Sports Toronto & GTA
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Netanyahu defends his planned military offensive in Gaza
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel 'has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.' He is speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem and defending a planned military offensive. He asserts that 'our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza.' He is also pushing back against what he calls a 'global campaign of lies' as condemnation of the plan grows both inside and outside Israel.
