Canada holding firm on recognizing Palestinian statehood even as Germany wavers
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that conditions have not been met to recognize Palestinian statehood
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OTTAWA — Canada is holding firm on recognizing Palestinian statehood next month, even as Germany wavers.
During a press conference in Berlin with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country will not be joining other western nations in officially recognizing Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly next month.
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“The Canadian government’s position on the possible recognition of Palestine is known to be strong, we will not support this initiative,” Merz said in German during the press conference, in response to a reporter’s question.
“We do not consider the conditions for state recognition to be fulfilled at present.”
Carney did not offer a response to the reporter’s question, but a statement to the Toronto Sun from the PMO Tuesday morning said Canada’s declaration of July 30 — in which the government said recognition will take place as long as certain conditions by the Palestinian Authority are met — still stands.
“This intention is predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reforms — including the commitments by Palestinian Authority President (Mahmoud) 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,” Carney said during a press conference last month.
Similar moves are planned by both the U.K. and France — despite calls from Israeli and Jewish groups that such recognition would be tantamount to condoning and rewarding Palestinian terrorism.
Noah Shack, CEO for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA,) urged Canada to change course.
“The German government is correct: Recognizing Palestinian statehood ‘right now would undermine efforts toward peace,” Shack said.
“It will not return the Israelis held hostage or bring an end to Hamas’ rule in Gaza, and it will do nothing to alleviate the humanitarian situation on the ground.”
Former Canadian diplomat and Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Alan Kessel told the Toronto Sun that Germany realizes that recognizing Palestinian statehood does little but reward Hamas terrorists for the horrors they inflicted on Oct. 7, 2023.
“I think Canada should be following that line, which is never trade principles for slogans,” he said.
“We should stand for peace, not fantasy — and recognizing the state before it renounces terror, unifies its leadership, and accepts Israel’s right to exist isn’t diplomacy, it’s a surrender to violence.”
Palestinians, by every legal measure, meet no threshold for statehood, Kessel maintains — without control over their borders, no unified authority, and no accountability.
“Canada would be recognizing a fiction,” Kessel said.
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