Canada to recognise Palestine at UN general assembly, joining France and UK in push for new state
Canada's plans follow similar announcements by France and the UK to formally recognise Palestine, while New Zealand and Australia were also signatories to a declaration that indicates they could follow suit in the coming months.
The New York Call, published by the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Wednesday, said signatories 'have already recognised, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine'.
The signatories include Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino, each of which has not yet recognised an independent Palestinian state. They also include Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, which have. Emmanuel Macron last week said that France would recognise Palestinian statehood in the near future.
Palestinians inspect the site struck by an Israeli bombardment in Muwasi, Khan Younis, Gaza. Picture: AP Photo/Mariam Dagga
The statement, which was published before the conclusion of a three-day UN conference set on reviving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the states would 'reiterate our unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognised borders'.
It stressed the 'importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority'.
On Wednesday evening, Carney said Canada would recognise the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly in September if certain conditions were met. He held a virtual cabinet meeting on the Middle East earlier on Wednesday.
Carney said Canada would recognise Palestine if the Palestinian Authority, the body that governs the occupied West Bank, held an election in 2026 in which Palestinian militant group Hamas could play no part, and agreed to other democratic reforms.
He called on Hamas to release all hostages it is holding, disarm, and play no role in the future governance of Palestine.
In response, Iddo Moed, Israel's ambassador to Canada, said 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,' he said in a statement referring to Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007.
Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it would be difficult to make a trade deal with Canada after Carney's announcement. Canada and the US are working on negotiating a trade deal by 1 August, the date Trump is threatening to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by a prior trade agreement.
Palestinian walk carrying sacks of flour near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Picture: Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty
Carney's remarks come amid growing pressure on Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023 in response to a Hamas raid that led to the deaths of 1,200 people, mainly Israelis, and the taking of more than 250 prisoners. More than 60,000 people have died in Gaza in the ensuing conflict, according to the Hamas-led health ministry in Gaza.
Keir Starmer on Tuesday said that the UK would recognise the state of in September 'unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution'.
Donald Trump had initially said he didn't 'mind [Starmer] taking a position. I'm looking for getting people fed right now.'
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving Aberdeen, Scotland on Tuesday. Picture: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
But later he condemned the decision to recognise a Palestinian state, saying onboard Air Force One that 'you could make the case that you're rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don't think they should be rewarded. So I'm not in that camp, to be honest … because if you do that you are really rewarding Hamas. And I'm not about to do that.'
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said this week he wanted to time a recognition of Palestinian statehood to help achieve a breakthrough in negotiations.
'What we're looking at is the circumstances where recognition will advance the objective of the creation of two states,' Albanese said on Wednesday.
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The Journal
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'Important step': Ban on services must be included in Occupied Territories Bill, committee says
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RTÉ News
10 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Government should combat 'smear campaigns' against OTB
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Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Irish Times
Israel increasingly isolated as more countries sign up to recognise Palestine
Israel found itself in a diplomatic crisis this week as state after state declared recognition of a Palestinian state or willingness to take such a move if the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continued. Even Germany, Israel's most important ally in Europe, joined the wave on Thursday when minister for foreign affairs Johann Wadephul, en route to Israel, said that although the recognition of a Palestinian state would come at the end of negotiations for a two-state solution, that process must begin now. Sweden on Thursday demanded that the European Union increase economic pressure on Israel. France , the UK , Canada and other states, including many considered allies of Israel, have already declared support for a Palestinian state, leaving Israel more isolated diplomatically than at any time in the past. READ MORE Israel is facing a new reality. The accusations of genocide and starvation in Gaza have led to sanctions, restrictions and international isolation. The situation is only likely to get worse as long as the war in Gaza drags on. The reports of hunger in Gaza, often accompanied by harrowing images, along with the almost daily reports of civilians killed while trying to collect food under the Israeli and US-backed distribution system, are difficult to process for most Israelis, many of whom blame Hamas for anything that happens in Gaza. Other Israelis also assign any criticism of Israeli actions to 'anti-Semitism'. [ An Irish surgeon in Gaza: I have seen tiny bodies ripped apart, children eating grass ] The Israeli foreign ministry claims that recognising a Palestinian state is a 'reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza', damaging attempts to release the hostages. Defence minister Israel Katz said the plans to recognise a Palestinian state 'give Hamas encouragement and harden its stance'. Israeli officials also claim that Hamas manipulates the humanitarian crisis, inflating the number of those who died from malnutrition, and it blames Hamas for some of the exchanges of fire close to food distribution points. When The New York Times admitted this week that a widely distributed front-page photograph of an emaciated child failed to admit that he suffered from a pre-existing disease, Israel termed the omission as a 'blood libel'. The photograph was also published in The Irish Times. While international recognition of a Palestinian state increases Israel's diplomatic isolation, it remains a declarative measure with little practical impact. But turning Israel into a pariah state, akin to apartheid-era South Africa, is already having a negative impact. Every day this week Israeli media reported protests or physical attacks against Israeli holidaymakers in Europe. Last week an Israeli cruise ship had to forgo anchoring in the Greek island of Syros, following a pro-Palestinian protest at the port . The 21-month war has decimated Israel's tourist industry. It may be decades before it recovers. The Israeli economy has shown remarkable resilience this year – the Tel Aviv stock exchange is up 26 per cent and the shekel has strengthened 8 per cent against the US dollar – but many companies around the world are quietly choosing not to do business with Israel, whether due to solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza or consumer pressure. This week's attempt by the European Commission to suspend funding for Israeli start-ups, which would have excluded Israeli companies from the Horizon Europe programme, failed, but it could be a sign of things to come. A wide-scale academic boycott is also ongoing. Universities and professional associations have cut ties with Israeli researchers and institutions, and Israeli academics are rarely invited to conferences abroad. The cultural boycott is even more pronounced. Foreign artists have stopped coming to Israel and Israeli artists abroad are considered unwelcome.
