The Trudeau government would cynically maintain ambivalence regarding its position on the accusation of genocide against Israel made before an international tribunal, according to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who himself positions himself resolutely against the South African initiative. South.
“I want to highlight Justin Trudeau’s cynicism. [Le premier ministre] asks some of its deputies to take a stand for the allegations against Israel, and others to say the exact opposite to another group of voters,” said the leader of the official opposition during a press briefing held in Manitoba on Friday.
“He wants to convince both sides of the debate that he agrees with each [d’eux]. He is not a head of state. You have to have moral clarity. »
Pierre Poilievre resolutely stands behind Israel’s arguments, heard Friday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial body of the United Nations (UN), in response to the accusation of genocide in its ongoing military campaign against Hamas, formulated Thursday by South Africa.
“It’s not about genocide. This is a shameful and dishonest attack on the Jewish people and the Jewish state,” he said, in his repeated demonstration in French and English.
“The Hamas group is carrying out genocide […] Additionally, if we want to save Muslims from genocide, why aren’t countries making an effort to condemn China for its treatment of the Uighurs? Or the treatment of Sunnis in Syria by the government in Damascus? »
A Friday position
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, for his part promised Friday that his government would provide an official position later today on the accusation of genocide against Israel. The office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, has been promising a statement on the country’s position since Wednesday evening.
“Canada, for years, has been a defender of the rules-based international system. […] Our support for the process and the institution of the ICJ does not imply that we support the premise of the question posed by South Africa,” Mr. Trudeau said from the city of Guelph, Ontario.
Liberal troops are divided on the position that Canada should take on this allegation, just as they were on the request for a ceasefire between the belligerents in December. Like former minister Marco Mendicino, Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather asked his government to support the cause of Israel.
Their Ontario colleagues Iqra Khalid and Salma Zahid, on the contrary, showed their support for South Africa’s approach before the ICJ. The latter affirmed Duty in December that federal deputies have “a legal and moral responsibility to protect innocent civilians”.
New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Heather McPherson wrote to Minister Joly on Tuesday to ask her “not to intervene” against the South African request and to support the decision of the International Court, emphasizing that it This was the position adopted by France. The Green Party of Canada supports South Africa’s initiative.
The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, had not responded to journalists in a press scrum since the end of November. However, he revealed in a podcast broadcast during the holidays his hostility to the request for a ceasefire in Gaza, adopted by the UN General Assembly with the support of Canada.
The Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which left around 1,200 people dead and dozens of hostages. Since then, Israel’s response to Gaza has also caused significant Palestinian civilian losses, the toll of which continues to rise. Hamas estimates that more than 23,000 Gazans have already lost their lives, or 1% of the population, and especially women and children.
As events have evolved, the Canadian government has modified its vocabulary used to describe the situation in the Middle East. He has never called Israel’s actions “genocide” until now. On the contrary, he has always emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself, in “respect for international law”.
Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, ratified by 153 countries including Israel, genocide is defined as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” , as such “.