Canada and Malta say they will recognise state of Palestine
The move to recognise Palestine as a state comes amid a renewed push in Europe to put pressure on Israel to stop its devastating war in Gaza, which has led to widespread starvation in the strip, as well as to halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
"The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable," Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaking after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, emphasising the need for international cooperation to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.
"Canada has long been committed to a two-state solution. An independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state living side by side with the state of Israel in peace and security," he added.
In return, Canada wants to see "much-needed reforms" to the governance of the Palestinian Authority, including general elections to be held in 2026 with the exclusion of the militant group, Hamas.
"Canada will increase its efforts in supporting strong democratic governance in Palestine," Carney concluded.
Malta has long supported Palestinian sovereignty and the self-determination for its citizens. Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta's Foreign Ministry, made the announcement earlier at a United Nations conference on a two-state solution.
"As responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate the concept of a two-state solution from theory into practice," Cutajar said.
It comes a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer also announced the United Kingdom would formally recognise the state of Palestine before the annual gathering of world leaders at the 193-member General Assembly in September.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his country's decision to formalise the move in September a week earlier, which would make France the first G7 country and the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to recognise Palestine.
147 member states of the United Nations, including ten European Union member states already recognise the state of Palestine.
The act of recognition involves acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of Palestine within its pre-1967 Middle East war borders. This includes the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Israel opposed a two-state solution and boycott the UN conference held in New York City, alongside its closest ally, the United States.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Italian, Turkish and Libyan leaders meet to talk migration to Europe
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libya's Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in Istanbul on Friday for a summit centred on addressing migration, enhancing cooperation and supporting Libya's political stability. A statement issued by Meloni's office following the closed-door session said the three leaders discussed strengthening cooperation in the Mediterranean region, starting with the management of migration flows. Meloni praised the "excellent results achieved" through collaboration with Turkey on migration control, saying that the lessons learned from working with Ankara should be used to support the Libyan Government of National Unity's efforts on migration, according to a statement by her office. Erdoğan said that "long-term and sustainable" solutions were needed to eliminate the root cause of migration, according to a statement from his office. Libya is a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East and hoping to make it to Europe. Drowning incidents near the country's coast have been common. In December, at least 61 migrants, including women and children, drowned off the town of Zuwara on Libya's western coast. Greece recently announced plans to send warships to international waters in the region following a surge in crossings from Libya to the southern Greek island of Crete, a more perilous route than the more frequently used passage between Turkey and nearby Greek islands. In 2023, hundreds died when the fishing trawler Adriana, carrying migrants from Libya to Italy, sank in waters off Greece. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said that in 2021, 32,400 refugees and migrants had made the crossing from Libya to Europe, more than twice as many as in 2020. In April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed to increase staffing for Frontex, the EU's external border and coastguard agency, by 30,000, a number that could provide a significant boost in its mission to secure Europe's external borders. Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed Italy's commitment "to Libya's stability, unity, and independence," and its support for a Libyan-led, United Nations-facilitated political process leading to elections. The Turkish presidential statement said the three leaders would reconvene to evaluate decisions taken, following lower-level technical meetings. Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. In the disarray that followed, the country split into rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. Turkey has been allied with the Tripoli-based government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well. In 2019, Turkey reached an agreement with the Tripoli-based government which delineated maritime boundaries between Libya and Turkey, angering Greece and Cyprus which say the agreement infringes on their rights.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy
France said Friday, August 1, it could not seize women's contraception products estimated to be worth $9.7 million that the United States plans to destroy, after media reported the stockpile would be incinerated in the country. The contraceptives – intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden. But France's health ministry told Agence France-Presse Friday there was no legal way for it to intervene. The administration of Biden's successor Donald Trump, which has slashed USAID and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed last month it planned to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel. According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste. France's government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women's rights groups calling the US decision "insane." The health ministry told AFP that the government had "examined the courses of action available to us, but unfortunately there is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority, let alone the French national drug safety authority, to recover these medical products. Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks." The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed. Leaving Belgian warehouse Sarah Durocher, head of the French women's rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives had already left the Belgian warehouse. "We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun," Durocher said Thursday. "We do not know where these trucks are now – or whether they have arrived in France," she added. "We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision." French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it had a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider. But Veolia emphasized that the contract concerned "only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium. The products, mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring. Outrage over decision The US decision has provoked an outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their government to stop the plan. "France cannot allow itself to become the stage for such actions. A moratorium is necessary," wrote five NGOs in an op-ed in Le Monde, condemning the "absurdity" of the US decision. Among them was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government. All offers have been rejected. Last week, New Hampshire's Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse." A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The spokesperson pointed to a policy that prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions. The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the "global gag rule," was first introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It has been reinstated under every Republican president since. Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
France carries out aid airdrop in Gaza
President Emmanuel Macron said Friday, August 1, France had carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after UN-backed experts warned the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory was slipping into famine. "Faced with an urgent humanitarian crisis, we just conducted a food airdrop over Gaza," Macron said in English on X. "But airdrops are not enough. Israel must grant full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine," he said. He thanked France's Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support. Several tonnes of food supplies will be delivered to Gaza "over several days," the French foreign and defense ministries said in a joint statement. "France is also working on land transport, by far the most effective solution for the large-scale and unhindered delivery of humanitarian goods desperately needed by the population," the statement added. France will air-drop 40 tonnes of aid into Gaza from Friday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said earlier this week. Concern has escalated in the past week about hunger in the Gaza Strip after more than 21 months of war, which started after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a deadly attack against Israel in October 2023.
