Palestinian envoy says Liberals 'trying' on statehood, urges more action

Ambassador Mona Abuamara, Chief Representative of the Palestinian General Delegation, participates in an interview in her office in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The Palestinian ambassador to Canada believes Ottawa has stepped up its efforts for Palestinian sovereignty in recent weeks, but says the Liberals must do more if they're serious about a two-state solution.

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Mona Abuamara has also presented an invitation for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to visit the Gaza Strip, though she admits such a trip is unlikely to happen.

"I still give credit to the prime minister and to Minister Joly for trying to navigate this very difficult situation, domestically and internationally, for Canada," she said in a recent interview.

"For the past month, I feel that there is this change. There is a conversation. I feel they're listening and they're trying."

Abuamara pointed to recent statements where Canada expressed not just concern but condemnation, such as when Israel's finance minister suggested last month it would be justified to starve Palestinians.

She said there have been more frequent meetings between her delegation and Global Affairs Canada about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, but also about her concerns that Canada isn't following policies it has enacted to promote a two-state solution.

For decades, Canada has supported the idea of a Palestinian country that would exist alongside Israel in peace, which would require Israel to stop occupying territories it has claimed since 1967.

Yet Abuamara argued Canada is not adequately blocking products made in West Bank settlements that are illegal under international law, giving the examples of fruits that are processed in Israel or the U.S. and labelled as such, despite being grown on occupied land.

Abuamara said Canada needs to go beyond sanctioning particularly violent settlers and demand all settlers evacuate Palestinian land.

• Complete coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

In March, Parliament voted to stop authorizing arms export permits to Israel, though exports approved months prior are still active.

Abuamara said Global Affairs Canada cannot confirm whether Canadian components are contributing to weapons used against Palestinians. The department did not answer when asked whether this accurately conveys the department's discussions with Abuamara.

"We need for Canada to not recognize or accept or assist or aid Israel's occupation in any way," Abuamara said, arguing that Ottawa is otherwise undermining its own calls for a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

"What we want is a whole reconsideration of this relationship."

In a statement, Global Affairs Canada reiterated Ottawa's stance on multiple issues, such as the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, for Hamas to release all hostages and for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid. It said Israel must also respect an International Court of Justice decision in July that its occupation is indeed illegal and must end.

"We call on Israel to respond substantively to the ICJ’s advisory opinion, and ensure accountability for ongoing acts of violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers, reverse the record expansion of settlements in the West Bank which are illegal under international law, and work towards a two-state solution," the department wrote.

More broadly, Abuamara said Canada needs to shift away from framing Palestinians as victims who require aid and sympathy. She said Canadian programs aimed at educating Palestinians, training local police and building democratic institutions will not bear fruit without a viable path to statehood.

"The focus is on managing Palestinian people under occupation," she said. "You will always be the donor, and we will always be the recipient (until) we are treating the root cause."

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She said Palestinians need to see a viable route to independence, or they'll see violence as the only way to end the ongoing carnage and achieve sovereignty.

"You think that the situation is bad? Where we're heading is even worse," Abuamara said.

"If Canada does not step in right now and take a position of a leader, a champion for its own rules-based international order, (it's) the slippery slope."

She said that involves turning to armed resistance instead of a negotiating table.

"Palestinians, at the end of the day, want to live in peace and to have justice, finally. But they're not going to ever accept a de facto occupation and apartheid, and that's what Israel is giving," she said.

Her government is particularly worried that Israel is moving Palestinians into smaller and smaller territories in both Gaza and the West Bank, arguing the intent is to eventually annex the land and send Palestinians elsewhere.

Israel insists this is not its policy, though Abuamara said it's the logical conclusion of new settlements and new roads that split Gaza into parcels, and statements from Israeli politicians about the West Bank and Gaza.

"We can't justify the murder and the further dispossession and ethnic cleansing," she said.

The Israeli embassy in Ottawa disputed much of Abuamara's comments, saying the country's motive for its military campaign in Gaza is to eliminate a terrorist group that threatens Israel's existence.

"As (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu stated many times, Israel has no intention to settle permanently in Gaza. Israel remains firmly and independently committed to its obligations under international law," reads a statement, noting a recent pause in fighting for polio vaccinations.

"Any move to upgrade the status of the Palestinians — whether in the UN or bilaterally — rewards and incentivizes terrorism, particularly for Hamas," the statement reads, arguing the move would undermine eventual peace negotiations.

Canada has taken a different view, with Trudeau declaring in May that Ottawa no longer feels Palestinian statehood can only come at the end of negotiations.

Abuamara leads the Palestinian delegation in Ottawa, which Canada accredits as an official diplomatic mission despite not recognizing Palestine as a state, similar to the European Union having an ambassador to Canada.

She represents the State of Palestine, whose government is run by the Fatah party that governs the West Bank. Fatah lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007 following violent clashes.

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Polls by the anticorruption Aman Coalition think tank have found widespread concerns among Palestinians that Fatah is corrupt and ineffective at governing. Palestinian officials strongly dispute these findings, arguing these stem from a lack of progress toward peace and self-governance.

Last month, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas announced he wants to visit the Gaza Strip, despite daily bombardment by Israel in response to the brutal attack last fall on Israel by Hamas, which Canada deems a terrorist group.

Abuamara said the visit aims to counteract the Israeli government's push against an eventual Palestinian state, with Israel's parliament overwhelmingly rejecting the idea of a two-state solution in a 68-9 vote in July. The idea also seeks to assert her government's jurisdiction over those living in Gaza.

Abuamara said she delivered an invitation on Aug. 18 for Trudeau and Joly to join the visit. "We hope for your support and endorsement of this step, and to participate in it if possible," reads the letter, signed by senior Palestinian politician Hussein Al-Sheikh.

The ambassador admits the visit is "a long stretch" and she doubts Israel would allow Abbas to make the trip. Yet Abuamara said it would send a signal if countries supporting Palestine agree in principle to join a delegation.

She said it would give the world a chance to witness what's happening in Gaza, given Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering the territory.

Global Affairs Canada would only say it "is aware" of the invitation. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024