'Backtrack irresponsible statement!': Israeli PM Netanyahu to Canadian PM Carney over Gaza 'genocide' claims

Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu expressed strong disapproval of his Canadian counterpart's assertion regarding "genocide in Gaza".At a public gathering earlier this week, when a Palestine supporter interrupted Liberal leader Mark Carney by calling out about "a genocide happening in Gaza", Carney replied "I'm aware, that's why we have an arms embargo."In response to Carney, Netanyahu took to his official X profile on Friday, stating "Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney." Further accusing him going against Jews, he added, "But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state." He further demanded, "Mr Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!"Carney backtracksA day after backing the statement on Gaza "genocide", Carney revised his stance, even before Netanyahu's reaction.During a Wednesday afternoon media briefing, he explained, "You were there, I guess — It was noisy, you get… if you're up there, you hear snippets of what people say," as quoted by the Jerusalem Post. "I heard 'Gaza' and that, my point was that I'm aware of the situation in Gaza," he further added.A high-ranking Israeli government representative gave a statement to the Toronto Sun saying that Carney's statements were "unfortunate" and "contradict Canada's position on this issue."The representative refuted Carney's embargo claim, clarifying "There is no embargo, just a suspension of a limited number of permits, and, of course, I don't think Canada believes that there's any sort of genocide."In connection to the arms exports, the Canadian government had declared in March 2024 a complete halt to future weapons exports to Israel. This decision was incorporated into a broader resolution that urged international community to pursue a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, aligning with Canada's established diplomatic stance.Later in September, Canadian authorities had implemented a suspension on approximately 30 permits for ammunitions shipments to Israel, as reported by Times of Israel.