OTTAWA — The Palestinian ambassador in Ottawa is praising Canada's vote at the United Nations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, while urging the Canadian government to becomethe catalyst for global work toward a two-state solution.
"Israel has put (Canada) in such a position that it can't excuse the outrageous situation on the ground," Mona Abuamara, the chief representative of the Palestinian General Delegation to Canada, said Thursday in an interview.
"You can't excuse bodies, corpses on the streets being eaten by stray dogs. You can't excuse those under the rubble that loved ones can't even get to."
Canada backed a non-binding resolution Tuesday at the UN General Assembly that called for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, a departure from its long-standing policy to side with Israel in major UN votes.
The Liberals said they felt compelled to vote in favour of the motion because of the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the need for a focus on a sustainable peace that would ultimately allow for the creation of a Palestinian state.
The conflict began Oct. 7 when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in brutal surprise attacks on Israel, taking another 240 people hostage.
Israel has responded by withholding vital supplies from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, bombarding it with airstrikes and conducting a military offensive on the ground, with local authorities saying more than 18,700 people have died.
Israel's ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, has argued that Canada's vote amounts to pointing the finger squarely Israel for trying to weed out the threat of further attacks by Hamas, which has pledged to annihilate Israel. Canada lists Hamas as a terrorist entity.
"Hamas is responsible for this horrendous situation," Moed said Wednesday. "We are forced to fight, because if we don't fight, we get killed."
But Abuamara argued Thursday that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories was creating the cycle of violence that includes the Hamas attack.
She said the lack of progress on a two-state solution was the main message the Palestinian foreign minister brought to Ottawa on a visit last weekend as part of a delegation of Muslim countries.
Abuamara said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly listened intently to her minister's views, even if they didn't agree on every topic.
"On a personal level, it got me to a 180-degree change, in hoping that we can get somewhere with Canada — and that Canada could be the catalyst to that change."
Abuamara said Canada should push for a ceasefire in the short term, and do everything possible to get the two-state solution back on track and implement plans both sides agreed to decades ago.
She said Ottawa could apply economic and political pressure to Israel and try bringing the country to international courts, pointing to Canada's treatment of Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Abuamara added that Canada needs to consistently enforce rules barring weapon sales to countries that violate human rights.
She also encouraged Canada to join most of Asia, Africa and South America in recognizing Palestine as a country and to support efforts for the UN to do the same.
Canada currently recognizes the Palestinian territories as entities separate from Israel, but not as a state unto themselves. The Canadian government recognizes Abuamara's delegation, but not as envoys of a sovereign state.
She said Canada could be "playing the main role" to get the international community on board with a two-state solution. "I think (Canada) will bring it home," she said.
Abuamara stressed that Jewish people have a right to live in peace, in Canada and Israel. She argued the military actions Israel undertakes undermine that peace, and the violence drives many Palestinians to support militant groups.
Since the conflict began, armed Israeli groups living in West Bank settlements deemed illegal under international law have been attacking Palestinians at what the UN says is an unprecedented rate. Britain and the U.S. have imposed travel bans on extremist settlers.
The ambassador said breaking the cycle of violence requires accepting that militant groups like Hamas are not the only ones perpetrating violence.
She said Israel is using "an excuse that it's necessary and inevitable to produce such casualties, that it's a collateral damage."
Moed has firmly rejected such framing, stressing prior to Abuamara's interview that Israel does everything possible to limit Palestinian deaths.
His government has said that Hamas shelters militants and supplies inside schools and hospitals, using civilians as shields.
Supporters of Israel often argue that the international community holds Israel to an exceptional standard, saying that criticism at the UN amounts to bullying that is often animated by antisemitism.
On Thursday, Montreal MP Anna Gainey joined a chorus of fellow Liberals who argued Canada shouldn't have supported the UN resolution, noting that it didn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist or call out Hamas atrocities.
But Abuamara instead said she sees a double standard, in which militant groups like Hamas are perceived as the main threat to peace in the region when many more are killed by Israel's military.
"You're talking about the oppressor and the oppressed. So trying to have a balanced resolution that would put the both of them on the same level is an impossible mission," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.
— With files from The Associated Press
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
