What to expect, and what not to, at the UN meeting on an Israel-Palestinian two-state solution
Israel and its close ally the United States are boycotting the two-day meeting, which starts Monday and will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers of France and Saudi Arabia. Israel's right-wing government opposes a two-state solution, and the United States has called the meeting 'counterproductive' to its efforts to end the war in Gaza. France and Saudi Arabia want the meeting to put a spotlight on the two-state solution, which they view as the only viable road map to peace, and to start addressing the steps to get there.
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Toronto Sun
8 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: A Palestinian state won't lead to peace in the Mideast
Prime Minister Mark Carney listens to a journalist's question during a press conference on Parliament Hill following the Cabinet Policy Forum, in Ottawa on May 21, 2025. Photo by DAVE CHAN / AFP via Getty Images The latest call for the creation of a Palestinian state by Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leaders of many other countries is a classic example of politicians believing they have to say something and this is something. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The political fraud inherent in this call, however, is the implication that creating a Palestinian state will end the suffering of the Palestinians and ensure Israel's security. A peace deal requires credible leaders on all sides of the conflict who genuinely want peace, which doesn't exist in Israel today. Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza — one half of the proposed Palestinian state, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem — in 2005, using its army to forcibly remove 9,000 Jewish settlers in 21 settlements, plus four Jewish settlements in the West Bank. None of this led to peace. Far from it. Ever since then, Hamas has controlled Gaza and used it as its base for terrorist operations and missile attacks on Israel. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Simply put, Hamas doesn't want a viable Palestinian state living in peace beside a secure Israel. It wants Israel cleansed of Jews — Judenfrei — as the Nazis called it — which is in its founding charter. Carney's choice to preside over the creation of a Palestinian state — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — is a discredited, 89-year-old antisemite and periodic Holocaust denier whose authority is limited to the West Bank and not Hamas-controlled Gaza. Polls show Abbas is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, who regard his Fatah party, which has received billions of dollars in foreign aid, as corrupt. They want him to resign. On the other side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, intends to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank and may be about to re-occupy Gaza, escalating the war yet again, which some military commanders oppose This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Israeli parliament recently passed a symbolic motion to annex the West Bank — where 700,000 Jewish settlers live illegally, according to international law, among an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians. Netanyahu's supporters view him as the only Israeli leader tough enough to counter the threat posed to Israel not only by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, but by terrorist-sponsoring Iran, whose nuclear facilities were recently bombed by Israel and the U.S. Netanyahu's opponents say he is corrupt. He's on trial for 2019 charges of breach of trust, taking bribes and fraud. Despite his claim of being Israel's 'Mr. Security,' the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust — by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — occurred on his watch. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Netanyahu has been accused of propping up Hamas as a bulwark against the creation of a Palestinian state by Abbas. In fact, Israel promoted Hamas in the 1980s — disastrously — as a bulwark against the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by the late Yasser Arafat, forerunner of the Palestinian Authority. To be sure, the myth promoted by Israel's enemies that one cannot criticize Israel without being accused of antisemitism is absurd and ignores that some of the harshest critics of the occupation are Israelis. Read More Many are in Israel's security forces. One example was the late Avraham Shalom, director of Israel's internal security service, the Shin Bet, in the 1980s. He described Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank as 'brutal … similar to the Germans in World War II. Similar, not identical … We've become cruel to ourselves as well, but mainly to the occupied population, using the excuse of the war against terror.' RECOMMENDED VIDEO World Celebrity Columnists Golf Editorial Cartoons
Winnipeg Free Press
8 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Syria signs $14 billion in investment deals, including $4 billion airport expansion
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria signed agreements worth $14 billion with regional and international companies on Wednesday for 12 investment projects, including modernizing the international airport in Damascus and a new subway system, state media reported. The deals are the largest so far since foreign companies and countries started an investment push into the war-torn country after Western sanctions were eased following the fall of the 54-year rule of the Assad family. The head of Syria's Investment Authority, Talal al-Halili, was quoted by state-run news agency SANA as saying that the expansion of Damascus' International Airport will cost $4 billion and will be done by the Qatar-based UCC Holding. SANA said that the airport will be able to serve up to 31 million travelers a year, after the expansion. SANA added that the agreement for the new subway system in the capital is worth $2 billion, and the network is expected to be used by 750,000 people a day. The deal for the subway was signed by Syria's Transportation Ministry and the United Arab Emirates' National Investment Corporation, SANA said. Other projects include the $2 billion construction of 60 residential towers with 20,000 housing units outside of the capital. 'Syria is open for investments and determined to build a bright future,' al-Hilali said during the ceremony, which was attended by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. In late July, Syria and Saudi Arabia announced 47 investment agreements, valued at more than $6 billion to mark a significant step in rebuilding Syria's war-battered economy. In May, Syria signed an agreement with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies for the development of a $7 billion 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of Syria's war-battered electricity grid. 'The future of a prosperous and peaceful Syria is in the hands of Syria and its regional partners,' said the U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, who attended Wednesday's signing in Damascus.
Toronto Star
14 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Trump could meet in person with Putin as soon as next week, White House official says
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, shake hands during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) DL flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
