Canadian MPs are working with colleagues in Australia and New Zealand to try to persuade their respective governments to jointly recognize a Palestinian state.
NDP MP Heather McPherson, who is leading the recruitment drive for Canadian MPs, said building on work already done by the three governments may be the best way to move forward with a two-state solution. .
“If that’s a way that we can move them forward on some of the important issues that I think are very important, we’re going to work together to put more and more pressure on these three governments to do that.” ” she said.
“From my point of view, it is incredible that the two-state solution policy is maintained despite refusing to recognize a Palestinian state.”
New Zealand MP Phil Twyford is helping lead a fledgling effort to have the three countries formally recognize a Palestinian state, moving beyond the current practice of calling for a two-state solution to eventually survive. Refers to the creation of a Palestinian state. Peace with Israel.
“For our country to support recognition of Palestine in a positive and constructive manner at this time would send a very important message to the rest of the international community.”
Since December, Ottawa has signed three lengthy joint statements with Australia and New Zealand expressing common positions on Hamas, Gaza, Israeli hostages and humanitarian assistance.
The small group is currently recruiting congressmen and senators for virtual meetings to determine how they can work together, including issuing statements and using legislative tools. MPs say they will also be joined by colleagues from Ireland, which recognized Palestine at the same time as Norway and Spain in May.
MPs from Ottawa, Canberra and Wellington said the war in Gaza was a major foreign policy issue for their countries, exciting young voters and sparking mass protests.
Australian MP Maria Vanvakinou said the issue was already evident in the upcoming Australian elections. She said there are diaspora communities in both Canada and Australia who want elected officials to make a stronger case for ending the war.
“We have a very close relationship, a very close bilateral relationship, and we also have very similar types of community experiences,” she said.
“Given that like-minded countries are working on this issue, it makes sense that there will also be networks among parliamentarians.”
Both MPs leading the ‘Down Under’ effort are members of their country’s Labor Party and a global coalition of like-minded parties called the Progressive Alliance. Canada’s NDP is part of that alliance. They all hope to involve parliamentarians from other parties in each country.
The three MPs say the idea is to limit the backlash such a measure could cause. Israel has already threatened to block European diplomats from entering missions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem with checkpoints if the government recognizes a Palestinian state.
Twyford said the three countries are firmly in the Western alliance camp that has supported Israel for decades, but they also have an independent mindset and a human rights stance. He insisted there were only “some differences” in how they felt about the Middle East.
Mr Twyford said: “Recognition of Palestine is a very important step at this time to send a message to the international community that we need a negotiated political solution and that Palestinians need to be at the table.” .
New Zealand’s foreign minister said in May that recognition of Palestine was “a matter of when, not if” and that the timeline depended on a clear understanding of who would represent the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian Authority governs the West Bank, but lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007, and its leadership is divided. Approximately 20 years have passed since the Palestinian Authority, which is affiliated with the Fatah Party, held presidential and parliamentary elections.
Twyford pointed out that countries like the United States recognized Israel and Kosovo before they were fully functioning states. “The call for recognition is not about recognizing any particular political party,” he said. “It’s about recognizing Palestine as an entity.”
Australia’s foreign minister last week called for a “clear timeline for an international declaration of a Palestinian state”, arguing that unilateral declarations would be ineffective.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said last week that Ottawa was still considering what should happen. “We are working with like-minded countries to ensure we identify the conditions for the right time,” she said.
MPs on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee voted to launch a study into how best Canada should recognize Palestine, with the Liberals and National Democratic Party passing a motion opposed by the Conservatives.
The committee had not released minutes of recent closed-door meetings as of Monday afternoon, but some members spoke to the media. The Conservative Party has argued that admitting Canada as a province would put it offside from other G7 countries.
McPherson said he hopes the discussion doesn’t distract from the NDP’s other demands, such as tighter arms restrictions and sanctions on far-right Israeli officials.
“It’s important, but it’s not the only thing that will move the government forward,” she said. “This is not an opportunity to check a box and walk away.”
The United Nations human rights agency announced in June that 146 of the 193 members of parliament recognized the Palestinian state, which includes much of Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
However, the Israeli government strongly opposed it. In July of this year, Israel’s parliament rejected the two-state solution by an overwhelming majority of 68 to 9.
“Any move to improve the status of Palestinians, whether at the United Nations or bilaterally, rewards and encourages terrorism, which Hamas in particular sees as acts that justify genocidal attacks against Israel.” said the Israeli embassy in a statement. Ottawa.
“Such decisions seriously undermine the prospects for dispute resolution, which can only be achieved through direct negotiations.”
Mona Abu-Amara, the Palestinian ambassador to Canada, said the MPs were motivated in part by the prospect of the U.S. election in early November and the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
“I don’t think any country is willing to fight him on this at this point,” Abuamara said in an August interview, adding that his delegation had no intention of interfering with Canada’s internal discussions.
He noted that in August, President Trump was considering whether there were “ways to acquire even more” of Israeli territory. “We hope that the free world and its free democracies will take action sooner rather than later to prevent further developments,” Abuamara said.
John Allen, Canada’s former ambassador to Israel, told the Red Passport podcast that he had heard that Ottawa had urged his countrymen to support a May vote at the United Nations General Assembly for full recognition of Palestine.
“My understanding is that we were trying to convince the Australians and New Zealanders to move, and they didn’t move, so we didn’t move,” he said in an episode published on August 2. mentioned in.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.
