(Ottawa) La décision de l’Espagne, de l’Irlande et de la Norvège de reconnaître l’État palestinien a incité le NPD à relancer son appel en ce sens. À la requête du parti de gauche, Justin Trudeau a répondu que le Canada franchirait cette étape « au moment approprié », en condamnant le refus de Benyamin Nétanyahou d’adhérer à une solution à deux États.
« Il s’agit d’une étape cruciale vers la paix et la justice pour les Palestiniens et les Israéliens, mais le Canada est aux abonnés absents […] The Prime Minister can take a position today. Will he […] recognize the State of Palestine? “, asked New Democrat Heather McPherson during question period.
Referring to written notes, Justin Trudeau replied that Canada was not yet ready to join these three European countries. “We oppose the efforts of the Netanyahu government to reject a two-state solution,” he argued, speaking of a government with which relations are tense.
“We are ready to recognize the State of Palestine at the appropriate time, not necessarily as a last step on the path [vers la paix] “, he added, noting that Hamas currently controlled areas in Gaza, had not laid down its weapons and freed the Israeli hostages.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday that they would recognize the Palestinian state, which did not fail to provoke Israel’s fury.
This is a second snub by the international community against the Jewish state in the space of a few days, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested on Monday arrest warrants for the first Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant.
While recognizing the independence of the international tribunal, Prime Minister Trudeau said he found it “really problematic that there is any suggestion of equivalence between the elected leadership of a democratic country like Israel and the leaders of the murderous terrorist group Hamas.”
In the Conservative Party, the ICC’s announcement sparked indignation. “The ICC Attorney General’s demand to arrest Israel’s democratically elected leaders for defending their country against terrorism is outrageous,” MP Michael Chong said in a statement published on the X network.
A renewed attempt
The New Democratic Party (NDP) tried to get the Trudeau government to take this step through a motion. However, following close negotiations with the Liberals, the provision on recognition of the Palestinian state fell by the wayside during the vote last March.
The New Democratic approach was especially annoying for the Liberals. In the other camps, positions were clearly demarcated, at least publicly. Conservatives: no. New Democrats, Bloc and Greens: yes.