Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned his Canadian counterpart's "irresponsible" claim of Israel's "genocide in Gaza" in a post on X on Thursday night.
During a rally on Tuesday evening, Liberal leader Mark Carney was interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester who shouted, "there's a genocide happening in Gaza."
Carney responded "I'm aware, that's why we have an arms embargo."
Netanyahu shared the video on his official X account, writing "Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney."
"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."
Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney. 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. Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible… https://t.co/27ZcXjew85
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 10, 2025
"Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!," he asked.
Backtracking on words
Carney later backtracked on his statements when questioned about them on Wednesday, insisting he didn't hear the heckler say 'genocide.'
“You were there, I guess — It was noisy, you get… if you’re up there, you hear snippets of what people say,” he said in a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
“I heard ‘Gaza’ and that, my point was that I’m aware of the situation in Gaza.”
A senior Israeli government official told the Toronto Sun that Carney’s comments were “unfortunate” and "contradict Canada’s position on this issue."
The official also disputed Carney's claims that there is an embargo, saying “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.”