Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada will recognise a Palestinian state in September, making it the third G7 country to do so in recent days.
Carney said such a move would depend on certain conditions, including commitments by the Palestinian Authority to fundamentally reform its governance and to hold general elections in 2026 without Hamas and to demilitarise the territory.
His announcement comes a day after the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and other conditions.
Last week, France said it will also formally recognise a Palestinian state. Most countries – about 139 in all – formally recognise a Palestinian state.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Carney said “the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and it is rapidly deteriorating”.
He added that Canada had long been committed to a two-state solution as part of a negotiated peace process, but said that “this approach is no longer tenable”.
Carney cited the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, and the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas as reasons why Canada had changed its position.
He said he had spoken with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday about Canada’s position.
The prime minister has been under pressure in recent days to address Palestinian statehood.
Nearly 200 former Canadian ambassadors and diplomats signed a letter on Tuesday calling on him to recognise a Palestinian state.
