Canada has become third G7 country to say it will recognise Palestinian state alongside UK and France
Canada will recognise a Palestinian state in September if certain conditions are met, the country’s Prime Minister has said.
Mark Carney said the Palestinian Authority will need to commit to a major overhaul of its governance and hold a general elections in 2026, in which Hamas will play no part, for a Palestinian state to be recognised.
He said his goal was to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution but also “condemns the fact Israel has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza”.
Canada had long stated it would only recognise a Palestinian state at the conclusion of peace talks with Israel.
But Carney said the reality on the ground, including starvation of citizens in Gaza, meant “the prospect of a Palestinian state is literally receding before our eyes.”
Among the reasons, he said, were “the pervasive threat of Hamas terrorism to Israel,” accelerated settlement building across the West Bank and East Jerusalem and a vote by the Knesset calling for the annexation of the West Bank.
Malta has also announced it would recognise the state of Palestine.
Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta’s Foreign Ministry, told a UN General Assembly meeting that his country has long supported self-determination for the Palestinian people, and “as responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate the concept of a two-state solution from theory into practice.”
The announcements come after Sir Keir Starmer laid out plans on Tuesday to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, and commits to a long-term sustainable peace”.
On Tuesday Donald Trump said he and Starmer had not discussed the move, and that recognising a Palestinian state would “reward Hamas”.
“You’re rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don’t think they should be rewarded,” he said.
On Wednesday, an influential group of peers warned Starmer’s pledge could breach international law as the territory may not meet the criteria for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933.
Some 38 members of the House of Lords, including some of the UK’s most eminent lawyers, have written to Attorney General Lord Hermer about the Prime Minister’s announcement.
In their letter to Lord Hermer, the peers said Palestine “does not meet the international law criteria for recognition of a state, namely, defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states”.
There is no certainty over the borders of Palestine they said, and no single government, as Hamas and Fatah are enemies.
Lord Hermer has previously insisted that a commitment to international law “goes absolutely to the heart” of the Government’s approach to foreign policy.
Starmer’s announcement was made less than a week after French President Emmanuel Macron said France will recognise a Palestinian state in September.
With agencies