JspaceNews
11/30/2012
Canada is temporarily recalling its ambassadors in Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as delegates to the United Nations, in protest of yesterday’s decision to elevate Palestine’s UN status.
“Our government’s position is clear: The only way to achieve a just and lasting peace is through negotiations, not unilateral actions,” Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said.
He added: “To that end, Canada is bringing its heads of missions in Israel and Ramallah and its permanent representatives to the UN in New York and Geneva back to Ottawa temporarily to assess the implications of yesterday’s UN General Assembly vote and inform Canada’s response to it. Canada will now review the full range of its bilateral relationship with the Palestinian Authority.”
Several other governments, including the US and Israel, have also promised repercussions for yesterday’s vote, which moves the PA’s position within the UN from permanent observer to non-member observer, a status the Vatican currently holds.
Opponents of the move point to Palestine’s strategy of circumventing direct negotiations with Israel to create official statehood. Instead, critics say the PA seeks to build international clout and balk Israeli sovereignty to ensure its own nation…
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