Letters: Ontario hospital's killing of puppies and dogs 'distressing'
Now that the triumvirate of Mark Carney, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer has spoken, we are supposed to believe that a golden era of peace and prosperity will descend on the Middle East, in the wake of their imminent recognition of the state of Palestine. It appears that terror and hostage-taking (as Hamas has done) are ways to get what you want; defending your country and hunting for hostages, held in terror tunnels, as Israel has been doing, not so much.
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There will be ramifications to this ill-considered action. International law, which so many love to reference but few really understand, is very clear on the preconditions for statehood. According to the Montevideo Convention, 1933, the three pre-conditions for statehood are: a permanent population; defined boundaries; a functioning government; and the ability to enter into relations with other states. The Palestinians meet none of these criteria.
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This also violates the tenets of the Oslo Accords, which granted the Palestinians autonomy and self-government, not statehood, and which laid out very clearly that final borders could happen only as a result of bilateral final negotiations with Israel, not by the fiat of three meddling prime ministers with their own agendas.
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This blatant flouting of international law and violation of the Oslo Accords is not only a direct assault on Israel's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also signals, not only to Israel, but to other countries that international agreements and guarantees are not worth the paper they are written on. So why bother negotiating?
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What we have is not three leaders, but three stooges.
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E. Joan O'Callaghan, Toronto
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Here we go again. Liberal incompetence on display for all the world to see. Mark Carney and his cabinet — like so many in the mainstream media and the UN — are hopelessly naïve in suggesting that the Palestinian Authority has any actual authority in Gaza, when it's clear that it is the terrorist group Hamas that's firmly in charge. And its stated goal: death to all Jews.
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Canadian recognition of a Palestinian State at this point in time — without a ceasefire, the elimination of Hamas and the return of the Israeli hostages taken so brutally — would be foolish. It's also something this minority government, in my opinion, does not have the right to carry out unilaterally. Deciding on Palestinian statehood is an issue that needs to be debated — and voted on — when Parliament reconvenes in the fall. And may smarter, more informed heads prevail.
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Nancy McDonald, Stratford, Ont.
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In light of the newly released footage of Israeli hostages on the brink of death, I believe Canadians must urgently question the moral and political consequences of our government's consideration to recognize a Palestinian state at this time.
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Watching the video of the hostages — starved, skeletal, barely alive — was a visceral horror. As a Jewish woman living in Toronto, I could not help but imagine if one of them were my child.
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A senior Hamas official has openly called the international recognition of Palestine 'one of the fruits of October 7.' This is not about peace. It is the rewarding of terror.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — a Holocaust denier, accused of corruption, and until recently paying convicted terrorists — is no credible leader. He has no democratic mandate, having last been elected in 2005, and no plan to prepare his people for peaceful coexistence with Israel.
Recognizing a Palestinian state now, with hostages still in Hamas tunnels and without any meaningful reform, sends one message to terrorists: violence works.
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Global News
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Protest banner on B.C. legislature at centre of security breach
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CTV News
8 hours ago
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Israeli flag installed outside town hall in Hampstead, Que. stirs local debate
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