Canada stands alone on Mideast

Kathryn Blaze Carlson | Dec 3, 2012 10:19 PM ET | Last Updated: Dec 3, 2012 11:20 PM ET
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AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird addresses the UN General Assembly last Thursday in New York ahead of a vote on Palestinian statehood. Canada was one of the few countries to vote against the motion.

 

Analysis
Last week’s UN recognition of a Palestinian state and Israel’s decision to build new homes in the West Bank have sparked an international wave of diplomatic wrist-slapping, pitting key European players on one side and Canada on the other.

On Monday, Israeli ambassadors were summoned for consultations in five European capitals and officials warned of other potential measures against Israel. Even though the United States voted with Israel against the Palestinian bid, the Obama administration called Israel’s ramped-up building plans “especially damaging” to peace prospects.

But Ottawa stands out for waving its diplomatic stick squarely — and solely — at the Palestinian Authority, recalling its diplomats from the West Bank, Israel and the UN offices in New York and Geneva to review Canada’s bilateral relationship with the authority. A government spokesperson on Monday confirmed that Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will meet with those representatives in Ottawa this week.

The Harper government has for years been one of Israel’s closest and most reliable allies, but with last Thursday’s UN vote and this week’s meeting, Canada has distinguished itself on the world stage, at this particular moment, as perhaps even more supportive of Israel than the United States has been.

While the U.S. and Europe have long opposed building in the West Bank, their new condemnations used especially sharp language, and rarely are Israeli ambassadors publicly grilled. But after a flurry of angry European protests over the weekend, the Israeli ambassadors to Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark were all summoned by their hosts on Monday.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told parliament that “together with other EU countries we will discuss other potential steps,” while British government officials said the EU would be looking to President Barack Obama for leadership on the matter. Italian Premier Mario Monti and French President Franois Hollande issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply worried” by the construction plans they called a “serious obstacle to Mideast peace.”

The last month has seen yet another bloody conflict in Gaza and Israel after several months of indiscriminate bombing by Hamas, and an appeal for upgraded status at the General Assembly from the Palestinian Authority that met with an overwhelming vote in favour.

The Harper government needs to keep its cool. Canada now risks losing its way if it does not. Canada’s support for Israel’s security should not mean we lose our own voice as a country that understands, and supports, the Palestinian aspiration for statehood. - Bob Rae, Liberal Party

The issue is still how that can be achieved. There are forces within the Palestinian political community that refuse to accept the legitimacy of “the other,” and there is always the risk that these forces — fuelled by extremist, even fanatical rhetoric and actions that inevitably trigger a reaction — will prevail.

There was also speculation Monday that France and Britain were considering recalling their ambassadors from Israel — a diplomatic escalation that would mark a sharp and high-profile blow to Israel at a time when it is already taking significant heat, especially for its plans to develop a sensitive part of the West Bank just outside of Jerusalem known as “E1.”

The diplomatic row has shone a bright light on the foreign policy rift between various European countries and Canada, which is readying to deal a political strike at the Palestinian Authority with its meeting of recalled ambassadors in Ottawa — whether any policy shift comes of it or not.

With the meeting slated for sometime this week, speculation continues to swirl about whether the rendezvous will prove largely symbolic or spell tangible repercussions for the Palestinian Authority or for Canada itself.

Mr. Baird said in an interview last week that Canada is not considering severing diplomatic ties with the Authority, and he deferred questions about the future of Canada’s foreign aid to International Cooperation Minister Julian Fantino. Still, former Canadian ambassador Robert Collette said Ottawa has various other mechanisms to show its displeasure, including restricting the Palestinian envoy’s access to Canadian officials or stepping down as chair of the Middle East Peace Process Working Group, which is dedicated to finding solutions to the Palestinian refugee issue.

But the Palestinian Authority has some diplomatic tools in its arsenal, too. McGill University political scientist Rex Brynen pointed to recent comments by Saed Erekat, the top Palestinian negotiator, in which he threatened to oust Canada from the refugee working group and put Canada on the agenda for discussion at an upcoming Arab League meeting next week.

“On the Arab side, there might be some sense to making an example out of Canada — a demonstration that you can’t easily take those kinds of positions without diplomatic costs,” Mr. Brynen said, adding that any negative discussion about Canada at the Arab League meeting could weaken its reputation and influence in the Middle East.

Meantime, European foreign ministers are slated for their own meeting next week, where the Israeli plan to build 3,000 homes in the West Bank will be high on the agenda, one EU official in Brussels said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed no signs of bending Monday. His office said Israel would continue to stand up for its interests “even in the face of international pressure.”

National Post, with files from The Associated Press