Following the British and French examples of the United Kingdom and France, which are both facing growing international condemnation of Israel’s war on Gaza, President Donald Trump has stated that it will be challenging to reach a trade agreement with Canada.
“Wow! Canada just announced that it supports Palestine’s statehood. That will make it difficult for us to reach an agreement with them. Oh ‘ Canada!!”! On Thursday, Trump posted a message to his social media account Truth Social. The office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not respond to a request for comment right away.
Following recent announcements from France and the UK, Trump’s post comes one day after Carney revealed that Canada will recognize Palestine at its 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September.
By August 1, Trump is threatening to impose a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods that are not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Canada and the US are attempting to reach a trade agreement.
Carney claimed on Wednesday that although the negotiations with Trump’s administration have been fruitful, they may not have been finished by the deadline.
Carney claimed that recognizing Palestinian statehood was necessary to protect Canadians’ long-standing interests in a “being eroded before our eyes” by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The prime minister claimed there was “no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace” due to the civilians’ worsening suffering in Gaza.
Carney, who was referring to the organization under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, which has civil authority in some of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, refuted Carney’s claim that Canada’s intentions were “predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to desperately needed reforms.”
If Canada were to win the right to recognize this state, Carney added that Abbas would need to “hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part” and “demilitarise the Palestinian state.”
France moves to Canada after the UK.
The US has criticized US efforts to grant a Palestinian state, claiming Hamas benefits from the strategy. Despite accusations made by UN experts and human rights organizations that the US ally is committing a genocide against Palestinians, the Trump administration has continued to support Israel.
Since the start of the war in 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 60, 000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel is being condemned around the world because more Palestinians are starving, with at least 154 of them now, including 89 children, among them.
Despite Israeli denials, Trump has asserted that Gaza was clearly experiencing starvation. On Thursday, his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit Israel for talks on ceasefire and aid.
After President Emmanuel Macron declared that his country would formally recognize a Palestinian state at the same UN meeting, Carney placed Canada alongside France with Wednesday’s announcement.
In the absence of accountable government, functioning institutions, or benevolent leadership, the Israeli embassy in Ottawa described the monstrous barbarism of Hamas on October 7, 2023 as “rewarded and legitimizes” the state.
Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, praised the announcement as a “historical” decision, while France declared that the nations would work together “to revive the prospects of peace in the region.”
The plan of Canada goes a step further than Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, announced this week.
Without Israel’s “substantive steps,” including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza, Starmer said the UK would formally recognize the State of Palestine in September.
Carney emphasized that Canada has always been a steadfast supporter of the group of nations that hoped a two-state solution “would be achieved as part of a peace process based on a negotiated settlement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.”
Carney cited “Hamas terrorism” and the group’s “longstanding violent rejection of Israel’s right to exist,” highlighting his attempt to reconcile his criticism of Israel’s actions with condemnation of Hamas. “Regrettably, this approach is no longer tenable,” he said.
According to Carney, the expansion of Israeli settlements throughout the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem has also weakened the peace process.
A vote in Israel’s parliament “calling for the annexation of the West Bank,” as well as Israel’s “ongoing failure,” were factors in the prime minister’s claim that a two-state solution was becoming more and less likely.
He argued that his decision was intended to safeguard Israel’s future.
Source: Aljazeera
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