Carney wants neither peace nor a Palestinian state

As a Canadian of Arab origin who voted for Mark Carney’s Liberals and even had their sign on my lawn, I feel the need to express my deep disappointment at his misguided recognition of a Palestinian state at this time.

The statement by Prime Minister Carney on Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state starts with the declaration that “Canada has long been committed to a two-state solution – an independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian state living side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security”, but the rest of the statement shows that Carney believes in exactly the opposite.

Carney correctly notes that the prospect for a two-state solution has been eroded over the years by Palestinian terrorism and by Israeli settlements, but he throws in another factor that is unrelated, the so-called “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.

The issue of food distribution in Gaza, which is the result of a war started by Hamas in “the horrific terrorist attack of October 7” (Carney’s words), is very recent, and the two-state solution was eroded long before that. It seems that Carney threw this in only for virtue signalling and for the purpose of beefing up a weak rationale, but all this does is to expose the weakness of the rationale further.

There is nothing in Carney’s statement that provides any logical basis for recognizing a Palestinian state at this time. Such a recognition will not make food distribution any easier. It will not prevent Israeli settlements. And most importantly, it will not stop Palestinian terrorism, which is the root of the conflict and without which there would never have been Israeli settlements. In fact, Israel shut down its settlements in Gaza twenty years ago and yet Gaza has been a much bigger source of terrorism than the West Bank where the settlements keep growing.

Recognizing a Palestinian state at a time when Hamas still holds hostages, at a time when Hamas still controls Gaza, and at a time when violence against Israel is still the dominant narrative among Palestinians, sends the signal that Palestinian terrorism is not only okay but is a way to achieve successes for the Palestinians. That is exactly the conclusion that Hamas drew. They said, “Nations are recognizing Palestinian state due to ‘fruits of October 7’”. It is hard to disagree with them on that.

Carney wrote that his recognition of a Palestinian state “is predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reforms, including the commitments by Palestinian Authority President Abbas to fundamentally reform its governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state”. This might be good if it was true, but it isn’t.

As Carney wrote, he will recognize a Palestinian state “at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025”, so what will he do if in 2026, the Palestinian Authority fails to deliver on its promises, as it has done so many times before? Will he rescind the recognition? He does not say, but clearly, that seems very unlikely, and if that’s what he intends to do, he should say it.

If Carney and other world leaders (who have recognized a Palestinian state or have announced that they will do so) sincerely wanted peace for Israel and the Palestinians, as they claim, they would promise to recognize a Palestinian state once there is a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, or at the very least after all hostages are released and after those in charge of the Palestinians have given up violence against Israel.

In addition to being counter-productive in achieving peace, recognition of a Palestinian state at this time is also counter-productive in terms of achieving a Palestinian state.

These recognitions will not cause the creation of a Palestinian, peaceful or otherwise. Only Israel can make a Palestinian state happen, and Israel will not do that while Palestinians are led by terrorists who are obsessed with killing Israelis. By giving a win to Hamas, Carney and company are encouraging terrorism which makes a Palestinian state even less likely.

Perhaps Carney and his friends want to be able to say “see, we did something” when they did less than nothing. Or perhaps they want to appease antisemitic voters. But one thing is clear, neither peace nor a Palestinian state was on their minds.