Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada has been committed to a two-state solution for decades.
Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that Canada intends to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The move would be a significant policy shift for Canada, which like many of its major allies had previously withheld such recognition. It follows similar announcements from France, which said it would recognize Palestinian statehood, and Britain, which said it would recognize Palestine if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire.
At a news conference alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Mr. Carney told reporters that his intention to recognize a Palestinian state is based on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to essential reforms, including a promise by its president, Mahmoud Abbas, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas would be unable to take part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.
At least 48 Palestinians waiting for food killed by Israeli strikes, Gaza hospital says
In his comments, Mr. Carney, who has been increasingly critical of Israel and has promised to act if the country does not stop escalating its war in Gaza, referenced the dire humanitarian situation there and positioned Canada as a country that stands up for human rights.
“The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable. And it’s rapidly deteriorating,” Mr. Carney said.
“Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Thousands more are on the brink of famine. Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has let the situation deteriorate in Gaza to this extent.”
His announcement was swiftly condemned by Israel.
“Let us be clear: Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it,” the country’s ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, said in a statement. “We will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland that seeks our annihilation.”
Mr. Carney said that as a founding member of both the United Nations and NATO, Canada is “always among the first to stand to defend peace and security around the world.”
Canada has been committed to a two-state solution, and for decades, Mr. Carney said, it was hoped that would be the outcome as part of a peace process. But this approach “is no longer tenable,” he said.
“The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delay in co-ordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life.”
Mr. Carney said that Hamas must release all of the hostages still being held in Gaza, as well as human remains. He said Canada will increase its efforts to support democratic governance in Palestine and reiterated that Hamas must disarm and play no part in the future governance of a Palestinian state.
The Prime Minister also said that Canada will always support Israel, adding that “any path to lasting peace for Israel also requires a viable and stable Palestinian state. And one that recognizes Israel’s inalienable right to security and peace.”
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a social media post that Mr. Carney’s decision “rewards violence, not peace” and legitimizes Hamas.
“Palestinians deserve to live free of Hamas and other terrorist groups, where the people can build their lives and raise their families living peacefully next to the Jewish state. That is the two-state solution Conservatives support,” he added.
The NDP called the move a “welcome step forward.”
Mr. Carney said that in recent days he’s spoken with Canada’s allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae.
He said international co-operation is key to securing lasting peace in the Middle East and Canada will do its part to help lead those efforts.
According to a readout from Mr. Carney’s office on Wednesday, the Prime Minister and Mr. Macron talked about “the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza” and Mr. Carney acknowledged Mr. Macron’s efforts to advance a two-state solution.
For months, the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations that work in Gaza have warned that people living there are starving and at risk of famine.
The UN has said that it has documented hundreds of people who have been killed just trying to get their hands on food. Most of these deaths, the UN said, happened when people were trying to get aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private American company that’s backed by Israel and the U.S. and has been roundly condemned by reputable aid groups.
On the weekend, Israel announced that fighting would be paused during the day in three areas, humanitarian routes would be set up so aid convoys could get through and that air drops would be deployed.
Gazans have described chaos and violence as desperate and hungry people scrambled to fight over aid that was dropped from the sky.
“The prospect, that possibility of a two-state solution is being eroded before our eyes,” Mr. Carney said.
He said the accelerated construction of settlements in the West Bank, the fact that most Gazans have been displaced as well as other developments on the ground, are lessening the possibility of a Palestinian state.
Mr. Carney said that with partners, he hopes Canada can help reverse course “so that the two-state solution becomes viable.”