‘No room for delay’: Canada to recognise Palestinian state

Carney reiterated that militant group Hamas – which is listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia – must release all hostages it captured on October 7, 2023, disarm and play no role in the future governance of a Palestinian state.

“Canada will always steadfastly support Israel’s existence as an independent state in the Middle East living in peace and security,” he said.

“Any path to lasting peace for Israel also requires a viable and stable Palestinian state, and one that recognises Israel’s inalienable right to security and peace.”

But in a statement, the Israeli foreign ministry said Canada’s position rewarded Hamas and harmed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza or a framework for releasing the remaining hostages.

A White House official said US President Donald Trump was focused on getting food to the people of Gaza and did not believe in rewarding Hamas by recognising a Palestinian state.

Canada, a Commonwealth nation, joins France in planning to recognise Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, while the United Kingdom says it will also recognise Palestine – unless Israel commits to an immediate ceasefire and takes urgent steps to end the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

But Australia has so far rejected that step. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that while he has always supported a two-state solution, he did not want to “win a political point”.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong would respond to Canada’s move “in due course”. He reiterated his view that Australian recognition of Palestine was a matter of “when, not if” and welcomed international momentum on the matter.

“In my personal view, I welcome momentum and progress made in the international community,” Chalmers told Sky News. “From an Australian point of view, recognition of Palestine is a matter of when, not if, so in that light, progress we’re seeing is welcome but also conditional.”

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Albanese had a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss the situation overnight, a day after the United Kingdom’s major foreign policy shift.

Carney said he had spoken in recent days with Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Canadian leader later told reporters that the reality on the ground – including the starvation of people in Gaza – meant “the prospect of a Palestinian state is literally receding before our eyes”.

“Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza,” he said.

Carney said likelihood of a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority had steadily and gravely eroded for several reasons. They included Hamas’ pervasive threat to Israel and its rejection of Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s accelerated construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank, a non-binding vote in the Israeli Knesset this month supporting the annexation of the West Bank, and Israel’s ongoing failure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, he said.

At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties.

The latest violence around aid distribution came as Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – who has led the Trump administration’s efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7 attack that sparked the fighting – will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza.

Earlier on Wednesday, Malta announced it would also recognise Palestine in September. Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta’s Foreign Ministry, said the country had long supported self-determination for the Palestinian people and “as responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate the concept of a two-state solution from theory into practice”.

Meanwhile, Israeli security cabinet member Ze’ev Elkin on Wednesday said Israel could threaten to annex parts of Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas, an idea that would deal a blow to Palestinian hopes of statehood on land Israel now occupies.

Accusing Hamas of trying to drag out ceasefire talks to gain Israeli concessions, Elkin told public broadcaster Kan that Israel may give the group an ultimatum to reach a deal before further expanding its military actions.

“The most painful thing for our enemy is losing lands,” he said. “A clarification to Hamas that the moment they play games with us they will lose land that they will never get back would be a significant pressure tool.”

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people and laid waste to much of the territory, the Gaza health ministry says.

With Reuters, AP