Michael Higgins: Mark Carney abandons Canadian principles for pinky promises on Palestine
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Carney's announcement on Wednesday that Canada would recognize the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September is a direct consequence of the butchery, slaughter, rape and abductions carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
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It is a reward for terrorism.
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To be sure, there has been a lot of death and destruction since that date, and Israel cannot escape all the blame — but that mayhem could have been avoided if Hamas had handed over the hostages they took 21 months ago.
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At his press conference Wednesday, Carney said, 'The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life.'
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Terrific. But what if those fine words had been offered by a Liberal prime minister on October 8, 2023? What if he had been joined by the British prime minister of the time (since the current one, Keith Starmer, is also intent on recognizing a Palestinian state)? What if the UN had joined them?
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If international action had been mobilized on October 8 against the obscenity that is Hamas, we wouldn't be where we are today.
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Carney also said, 'Canada is always among the first to stand to defend peace and security around the world.'
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Not on October 8, 2023 it wasn't.
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Carney said, 'International cooperation is essential to securing lasting peace and stability in the Middle East and Canada will do its best to help lead that effort.'
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Carney's official statement reads, 'For decades, it was hoped that this outcome (a two-state solution) would be achieved as part of a peace process built around a negotiated settlement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. Regrettably this approach is no longer credible.'
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To clarify, it's almost nine decades since a two-state solution was first proposed and then rejected by the Palestinians.
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It is instructive to look back at that proposal by the Peel Commission which issued a report in 1937 urging the partition of the British Middle East into a Jewish and an Arab homeland.
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Because almost ninety years later nothing has changed.
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The Peel Commission said, 'For Partition means that neither will get all it wants. It means that the Arabs must acquiesce in the exclusion from their sovereignty of a piece of territory, long occupied and once ruled by them. It means that the Jews must be content with less than the Land of Israel they once ruled and have hoped to rule again. But it seems possible that on reflection both parties will come to realize that the drawbacks of Partition are outweighed by its advantages. For, if it offers neither party all it wants, it offers each what it wants most, namely freedom and security.'
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