Canada intends to recognize Palestinian state in September
The announcement came after France said last week it would recognize a Palestinian state, and a day after Britain said it would recognize the state at the UN if the fighting in Gaza, part of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, had not stopped by then.
"We are working ourselves with others, to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, to not allow the facts on the ground, deaths on the ground, the settlements on the ground, the expropriations on the ground, to get to such an extent that this is not possible," Carney said.
He told reporters the planned move was predicated on the Palestinian Authority's commitment to reforms, including commitments to reform its governance and to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas "can play no part."
The announcements by some of Israel's closest allies reflect the growing international outrage over the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A global hunger monitor has warned that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in the enclave.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition. The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said the Israeli military killed at least 50 people within three hours on Wednesday as they tried to get food from UN aid trucks coming into the northern Gaza Strip.
"Israel rejects the statement by the Prime Minister of Canada," said Israel's Foreign Ministry in a statement.
"The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages." A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 'As the president stated, he would be rewarding Hamas if he recognizes a Palestinian state, and he doesn't think they should be rewarded. So he is not going to do that.
President Trump's focus is on getting people fed (in Gaza).' The official did not respond to a question on whether the US was given advance notice of Carney's announcement.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss the next steps to address the situation in Gaza, a US official said. US President Donald Trump said earlier this week he expects centers to be set up in order to feed more people in the enclave.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli security cabinet member Zeev Elkin 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." Mediation efforts aimed at reaching a deal that would secure a 60-day ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas ground to a halt last week, with the sides trading blame for the impasse.
Though recognition of a Palestinian state is largely seen as a symbolic move, Gazan man Saed al-Akhras said he hoped it marked a "real shift in how Western countries view the Palestinian cause." "Enough! Palestinians have lived for more than 70 years under killing, destruction, and occupation, while the world watches in silence," he said.
Families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza appealed for no recognition of a Palestinian state to come before their loved ones were returned.
"Such recognition is not a step toward peace, but rather a clear violation of international law and a dangerous moral and political failure that legitimises horrific war crimes," the Hostages Family Forum said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Britain's decision "rewards Hamas' monstrous terrorism." Israel made similar comments last week after France's announcement.
Two Hamas officials did not respond to requests for comment on the demand for the group to hand its weapons to the PA, which now has limited control of parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas has previously rejected calls to disarm, while Israel has ruled out letting the PA run Gaza.
Netanyahu said this month he wanted peace with Palestinians but described any future independent state as a potential platform to destroy Israel, so control of security must remain with Israel.
His cabinet includes far-right figures who openly demand the annexation of all Palestinian land. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that reestablishing Jewish settlements in Gaza was "closer than ever," calling Gaza "an inseparable part of the Land of Israel."
A 2-year-old girl being treated for a build-up of brain fluid died overnight of hunger, her father told Reuters on Wednesday.
"Mekkah, my little daughter, died of malnutrition and the lack of medication," Salah al-Gharably said by phone from Deir Al-Balah. "Doctors said the baby has to be fed a certain type of milk... but there is no milk," he said. "She starved. We stood helpless." The deaths from starvation and malnutrition overnight raised the toll from such causes to 154, including at least 89 children, since the war's start, most in recent weeks.
Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was "still far from enough." The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 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. (Reuters)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Turkmenistan's Avaza hosts UN conference on landlocked countries
Turkmenistan's Avaza National Tourist Zone is hosting the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries from August 4 to 8. The conference focuses on structural challenges faced by the world's 32 landlocked developing countries, which are home to over 600 million people. The conference was opened by Turkmenistan's National Leader and Chairman of the People's Council Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, together with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the 79th UN General Assembly session Philemon Yang, and representatives from international organizations and participating countries. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Guterres underlined the urgency of reducing global inequalities. 'These inequalities are not inevitable. This conference is not about obstacles — it is about solutions,' Guterres said. 'It is about launching a new decade of ambition — through the Avaza Program of Action — and fully unlocking the development potential of landlocked developing countries.' The UN chief called for bold action to support landlocked economies. 'Despite representing 7 percent of the world's population, LLDCs account for just over 1 percent of the global economy and trade — a stark example of deep inequalities that perpetuate marginalization," according to UN Secretary-General Guterres. UN officials aim to resolve this disparity through stronger partnerships and infrastructure investments. Located on the Caspian Sea coast near the port city of Turkmenbashi in western Turkmenistan, Avaza serves as a growing hub for wellness, leisure, and ecological tourism. Turkmenistan says the site shows its commitment to linking international diplomacy with regional development, with tourism as a key driver of the nation's socio-economic progress. Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedov cited the historic conference on the shores of the Caspian and noted it as symbolic to promote peace, development and global cooperation in the International Year of Peace and Trust, a UN initiative proposed by Turkmenistan. Berdimuhamedov also said that the gathering shows unity with the goals of peace, progress and well-being. Meanwhile, Berdimuhamedov met with Guterres to reaffirm Turkmenistan's support for sustainable development and global integration on the sidelines of the event.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Netanyahu hints at expanded war in Gaza but former Israeli military and spy chiefs object
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at wider military action in devastated Gaza on Tuesday, even as former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs called for an end to the nearly 22-month war. The new pressure on Netanyahu came as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll had surpassed 61,000. Health officials reported new deaths of hungry Palestinians seeking food at distribution points. As desperation mounts, the Israeli defense body coordinating aid announced a deal with local merchants to improve aid deliveries. Among those speaking out were former leaders of Israel's Shin Bet internal security service, Mossad spy agency and the military — and also ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In a video posted to social media this week, they said far-right members of the government are holding Israel 'hostage' in prolonging the conflict. Netanyahu's objectives in Gaza are 'a fantasy," Yoram Cohen, former head of Shin Bet, said in the video. 'If anyone imagines that we can reach every terrorist and every pit and every weapon, and in parallel bring our hostages home — I think it is impossible,' he said. Netanyahu convened his Security Cabinet to direct the military on the war's next stage, hinting that even tougher action was possible. However, the meeting wrapped up hours later without any announcements about Israel's plans. US President Donald Trump, asked by a reporter whether he supported the reoccupation of Gaza, said he wasn't aware of the 'suggestion' but that 'it's going to be pretty much up to Israel.' Netanyahu said his objectives include defeating Hamas, releasing all 50 remaining hostages and ensuring Gaza never again threatens Israel after the Hamas-led 2023 attack sparked the war. Israeli media reported disagreements between Netanyahu and the army chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, on how to proceed. The reports, citing anonymous officials in Netanyahu's office, said the prime minister was pushing the army, which controls about three quarters of Gaza, to conquer the entire territory — a step that could endanger hostages, deepen the humanitarian crisis and further isolate Israel internationally. Zamir reportedly opposes this step and could step down or be pushed out if it is approved. Israeli officials did not respond to requests for comment on the reports. Health officials in Gaza said Israeli forces opened fire on Tuesday morning toward Palestinians seeking aid and in targeted attacks in central and southern Gaza, killing at least 45 people. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said after previous shootings around aid distribution that it only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. The dead include at least 26 people killed in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone where looters and desperate crowds unloaded UN aid convoys. Six people were killed in Teina, near a road leading to a site run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor. Morgue records at the nearby Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, detailed the deaths and locations. The hospital is part of the Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but says roughly half the dead from the war have been women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of casualty data. Sami Arafat, a father of seven, described the chaos in the Morag Corridor early Tuesday, saying crowds rushed toward a convoy of UN aid trucks and Israeli forces fired toward them. 'There are no buildings to shelter us from the shooting,' he said. "The area is all rubble.' He said looters brandishing knives climbed aboard the trucks first and tore into the aid boxes, taking sugar that could be resold at the market while leaving less expensive rice behind. Elsewhere in central Gaza, Al-Awda hospital said it received the bodies of six Palestinians who were killed when Israeli troops targeted crowds near another GHF aid distribution site. The GHF said there were no incidents at its sites Tuesday and that most of the recent violence has been linked to UN aid deliveries. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites, airdropped parcels and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office. Israel's military says it only has fired warning shots and disputes the toll. The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid, COGAT, said on social media there will be a 'gradual and controlled renewal of the entry of goods through the private sector in Gaza.' It said a limited number of local merchants were approved for the plan. Mohammed Qassas from Khan Younis said his young children are so hungry that he is forced to storm aid trucks, which rarely reach warehouses these days because they are stopped by hungry crowds. 'How am I supposed to feed them? No one has mercy,' he said Monday. 'If we fight, we get the food. If we don't fight, we don't get anything.' It has become routine to see men returning from aid-seeking carrying bodies as well as sacks of flour. Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide toward famine. Aid groups say Israel's week-old measures to allow more aid in are far from sufficient . Families of hostages in Gaza fear starvation affects them too, and blame Hamas. As international alarm has mounted, several countries have airdropped aid over Gaza. The UN and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks. Palestinians gather daily for funeral prayers. "We are unarmed people who cannot endure this," shouted Maryam Abu Hatab in the yard of Nasser hospital. Ekram Nasr said her son was shot dead while seeking aid near the Morag corridor. 'I had to go alone to carry my son," she said, tears in her eyes. "I collected the remains of my son like the meat of dogs from the streets.' 'The entire world is watching," she added. "They are watching our patience, our strength and our faith in God. But we no longer have the power to endure."
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Nations gather in Geneva to confront world's spiraling plastic pollution crisis
Nations kicked off a meeting on Tuesday to try to complete a landmark treaty aimed at ending the plastic pollution crisis that affects every ecosystem and person on the planet. It's the sixth time negotiators are meeting and they hope the last. A key split is whether the treaty should require cutting plastic production, with powerful oil-producing nations opposed; most plastic is made from fossil fuels. They say redesign, recycling and reuse can solve the problem, while other countries and some major companies say that's not enough. Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee that aims to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, said, 'We are pretty sure nobody wants plastic pollution. Still, we have not been able to find a systematic and an effective way to stop it.' Vayas believes the 10-day gathering in Geneva can be groundbreaking. 'For the first time in history, the world is within our reach of a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution,' said Vayas, who is also Ecuador's ambassador to Britain. 'We are facing a global crisis. Plastic pollution is damaging ecosystems, polluting our oceans and rivers, threatening biodiversity, harming human health and unfairly impacting the most vulnerable. The urgency is real.' Only a treaty can mobilize the necessary global action, said Angelique Pouponneau, lead ocean negotiator for 39 small island and low-lying coastal developing states. At home in the Seychelles, Pouponneau said, plastic contaminates the fish they eat, piles up on beaches and chokes the ocean to undermine tourism and their way of life. 'It's the world's final opportunity to get this done and to get it done right,' she said. 'It would be a tragedy if we didn't live up to our mandate." UN Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen said the issues are complex, but the crisis is 'really spiraling' and there's a narrow pathway to a treaty. She said many countries agree on redesigning plastic products to be recycled and improving waste management, for example. 'We need to get a solution to this problem. Everybody wants it. I've yet to meet somebody who is in favor of plastic pollution,' Andersen said. Between 19 million and 23 million tons of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems annually, which could jump 50 percent by 2040 without urgent action, according to the UN. In March 2022, 175 nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution by the end of 2024. It was to address the full life cycle of plastic, including production, design and disposal. Talks last year in South Korea were supposed to be the final round, but they adjourned in December at an impasse over cutting production. Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic, and that could grow by about 70 percent by 2040 without policy changes. About 100 countries want to limit production as well as tackle cleanup and recycling. Many have said it's essential to address toxic chemicals. Panama led an effort in South Korea to address production in the treaty. Negotiator Debbra Cisneros said they'll do so again in Geneva because they strongly believe in addressing pollution at the source, not just through downstream measures like waste management. 'If we shy away from that ambition now, we risk adopting an agreement that is politically convenient, but environmentally speaking, is ineffective,' she said. About 300 businesses that are members of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty — companies such as Walmart, the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and L'Oreal — support reducing production along with increasing recycling and reuse. The coalition includes major food and beverage companies and retailers who want an effective, binding treaty with global rules to spare them the headaches of differing approaches in different countries. Some plastic-producing and oil and gas countries firmly oppose production limits. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of one common type of plastic, has led that group in asserting there should be no problem producing plastic if the world addresses plastic pollution. The US doesn't support global production caps or bans on certain plastic products or chemical additives to them. The State Department says it supports provisions to improve waste collection and management, improve product design and drive recycling, reuse and other efforts to cut the plastic dumped into the environment. On Tuesday, the US proposed striking language in the objective of the agreement about addressing the full life cycle of plastics, the mandate from the resolution for creating a treaty. Such a change could stop the inclusion of anything related to the supply of plastic or plastic production. (AP)
