Canada to Recognize Palestinian State at the U.N. General Assembly

Canada joins France and Britain in taking similar steps, after months of increasing criticism of Israel by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Canada said on Wednesday that it would recognize Palestine as a state, if the Palestinian Authority commits to making certain changes including holding elections.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had received assurances that such changes would be carried out in a call with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and plans to formally recognize Palestine during the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delaying coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life,” Mr. Carney said following a cabinet meeting largely focused on Gaza.

In recent days, Mr. Carney and others in his government — as well as leaders in France and Britain — have condemned the growing humanitarian crisis and rising starvation in Gaza, which Mr. Carney blamed on Israel’s refusal to cede control of aid to international organizations. Gaza health officials say dozens of people, including children, have died of starvation in recent weeks.

The dramatic policy reversal by Canada follows similar ones by France and Britain, increasing the pressure on Israel to end the nearly two-year-old war in the Gaza Strip.

Israel swiftly condemned the announcement.

“It is rewarding terrorists,” Iddo Moed, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “For us, for Israel, it is only increasing the pressure, and we will not give in to that pressure because this is our security.”

Mr. Carney said that the recognition was contingent on commitments by the Palestinian Authority to hold elections next year, the first since 2006; to exclude Hamas from that election and any government; and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.

Mr. Carney’s Liberal Party has called for decades for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

But it was always conditional on the two sides negotiating a settlement.

“For decades, it was hoped that this outcome would be achieved as part of a peace process built around a negotiated settlement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority,” Mr. Carney said. “Regrettably, this approach is no longer tenable.”

At the United Nations on Monday, Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign minister, said that her country would give the Palestinian Authority 10 million Canadian dollars, about $7.2 million, to help lay the foundation for an independent state. She also announced another 30 million Canadian dollars in humanitarian assistance.

Mr. Carney said that Canada is working with Jordan and other countries “to convey the necessary support to the population in the coming days.”

After France’s announcement, Britain said it would recognize Palestinian statehood, but with a caveat: It would hold off if Israel agreed to a cease-fire.

Mr. Carney made his announcement following a call with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain on Tuesday in which the two leaders discussed “the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza, as well as the United Kingdom’s statement on the recognition of a Palestinian state,” Mr. Carney’s office said in a statement.

Before Mr. Carney spoke on Wednesday, Canada’s foreign affairs department issued a joint statement from 15 countries, including France, Australia and Ireland, calling on other nations to either recognize the state of Palestine or “express the willingness or the positive consideration” of its statehood before the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Since he became prime minister in the spring, Mr. Carney, the leader of the Liberal Party, has ratcheted up Canada’s criticisms of Israel’s actions in Gaza and repeatedly condemned the humanitarian crisis there.

The Canadian decision to recognize Palestine as a state is likely to strain relations with the United States and President Trump. Mr. Carney’s government is currently in trade talks with the Trump administration that, should they fail, could lead to increased tariffs as soon as Friday.

Soon after midnight on Thursday, Mr. Trump posted on social media that Canada’s decision would “make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them.”

The move is also likely to be divisive domestically. During the recent Canadian election, the Conservative Party, campaigned on a platform that strongly endorsed the policies and actions of Israel in Gaza under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It also promised to deport foreign citizens who participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Mr. Carney’s own party is divided between members who strongly support Israel and those who were pressing for recognition of a Palestinian state.

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