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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that Canada will recognize a State of Palestine at the United Nations in September as he accused the Israeli government of failing to “prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”
After meeting with his cabinet Wednesday, Carney told reporters that the recognition was conditional on the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, going forward with significant reforms which include demilitarization and holding a general election in 2026.
Carney said Canada’s longstanding hope for a two-state solution negotiated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel was “no longer tenable” because of the war in Gaza.
“The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delay in co-ordinated international action to support peace, security, and the dignity of all human life,” Carney said.
“The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and is rapidly deteriorating,” he added.
Carney’s announcement was immediately condemned by the Israeli embassy, which said it rewards the 2023 terrorist attacks against Israel that started the war in Gaza.
“Let us be clear: Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it. We will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland that seeks our annihilation,” said Ambassador Iddo Moed.
“Recognizing a Palestinian state in the absence of accountable government, functioning institutions, or benevolent leadership, rewards and legitimizes the monstrous barbarity of Hamas on October 7, 2023 (the Hamas terrorist attack). It punishes Israeli and Palestinian victims of Hamas, vindicates Hamas’ Western sympathizers fuelling antisemitism, and hardens Hamas’ position at the negotiation table at a most critical time.”
Carney said the recognition would go to the Palestinian Authority and that Hamas is not welcome “in any shape or form” in the process. He said he spoke earlier Wednesday to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who reiterated a commitment to fundamentally reform the Authority’s governance, demilitarize the Palestinian state and hold general elections in 2026 that exclude Hamas.
On Wednesday, the 22-member Arab League signed a declaration with the European Union and 17 other countries calling on the terrorist group Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip.
It is the first time that the league, which comprises Arab and Muslim states including Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, condemned Hamas since its 2023 attack on Israel.
The declaration that was signed at a UN conference hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on “the peaceful settlement” of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of a two-state solution.
Carney’s announcement comes after France and the United Kingdom made similar announcements over the past week.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said his government would recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations general assembly in September if Israel has not implemented a ceasefire in Gaza by then.
He also demanded Israel significantly increase humanitarian aid to Gaza amid growing and vocal concerns by multiple humanitarian groups of famine. The Israeli government blames the UN and Hamas for failing to distribute aid.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said there was “real starvation” unfolding in the Gaza Strip, but said it was because Hamas was “stealing the food.”
Last week, France announced it would vote to recognize Palestinian statehood in September, a decision that was condemned by both Israel and the United States.
If they go through with their commitments, France, the U.K. and Canada will be the first G7 countries to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN, a largely symbolic move.
Carney’s announcement followed a group of 173 former Canadian ambassadors and diplomats calling on the federal government to recognize a Palestinian state, on Wednesday.
“Recognition will create the political space needed to set the stage for a serious bilateral negotiation process and send a clear message to the current Israeli government, which actively opposes a Palestinian state, that it does not have a veto on the recognition of Palestine,” wrote the former diplomats, including two ex-ambassadors to Israel, in a statement.
The group also called on Canada to implement a two-way arms embargo on military equipment to Israel, “urgently” implement trade restrictions on Israel exports originating from the occupied territories and push for the UN to create a “protected humanitarian corridor”.
The letter to Carney also called on Palestinians to eschew “terrorism and violence” and recognize Israel’s right to exist. It did not reiterate the Canadian government’s call for Hamas, designated a terrorist group in Canada, to relinquish control over the Gaza Strip.
In a rebuttal also sent to Carney’s office Wednesday, three other former Canadian diplomats — including the former top lawyer at Global Affairs Canada, Alan Kessel — argued that the letter’s proposals came from a good place but were “naive and dangerous.”
“If acted upon, their recommendations would empower a proscribed terrorist organization, weaken Canada’s strategic and moral standing, and ultimately leave both Palestinians and Israelis worse off,” read the rebuttal.
“Hamas and elements of the Palestinian Authority reject a two-state solution, pursuing instead a ‘one state without Jews’ vision that makes peace impossible,” the rebuttal said.
National Post, with files from Ari David Blaff.
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