Canada again supports UN motion critical of Israel, citing two-state solution

OTTAWA — Canada has again breached its years-long policy and voted in support of a United Nations motion critical of Israel, based on concerns about the viability of a two-state solution.

“The dynamics in the broader region show very clearly that conflict management, as opposed to genuine conflict resolution, is not in fact a sustainable path to peace, security and prosperity,” Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told a UN plenary Tuesday.

For years, Canada backed Israel in votes at the international body, but the federal Liberals changed that policy a year ago, citing concerns over policies that undermine Ottawa’s decades-long policy of advocating for an eventual Palestinian country that would exist in peace alongside Israel.

That change also came amid widespread concern from humanitarian groups and legal experts about Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law in its campaign in the Gaza Strip.

UN member states passed a motion 157 to 8, with seven abstentions, reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories and condemning the use of force against Palestinian civilians.

The motion passed Tuesday also calls for a peace conference, and is similar to motions brought before the UN multiple times.

It called out “terror against civilians on all sides” but did not name Hamas or any Palestinian militant group, drawing criticism from Israel advocates.

Rae said the motion should have been more balanced, but Ottawa wanted to signal its concern about the viability of a Palestinian state.

“We voted in favour of this resolution, like many, many others (did) to signal our firm commitment to the two-state solution,” he said.

Rae reiterated condemnation of the October 2023 attack by Hamas against Israel, and called for the return of all hostages including the body of Canadian citizen Judih Weinstein Haggai.

“All Palestinians deserve to be led by a legitimate and representative government without the participation of a terrorist organization such as Hamas,” Rae told the UN plenary.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong decried today’s vote as singling out Israel, writing on the platform X that supporting the motion would “reverse Canada’s long-standing position on Israel.”

He said that a Conservative government would be “ensuring alignment with our closest democratic allies.”

Tuesday’s vote was supported by the U.K., Japan and most European Union states.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says the Liberals had voted against similar motions for almost a decade.

“Today’s reversal to vote yes instead represents an abandonment of Canada’s long-standing, principled foreign policy,” the group wrote on X.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press