Daijiworld Media Network- Ottawa
Ottawa, Jul 31: In a landmark foreign policy shift, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday announced that Canada will formally recognise the State of Palestine at the upcoming 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025.
This move places Canada alongside France, which recently declared its own intention to support Palestinian statehood at the same global forum — a step that has already drawn sharp criticism from Israel and a dismissive response from the United States.
Announcing the decision in Ottawa, Carney said the recognition was a necessary step to preserve the rapidly fading hope of a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” Carney declared, emphasising the urgency of diplomatic intervention.
Referencing the Crisis in Gaza and West Bank
Carney pointed to Israel's ongoing military actions in Gaza, the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the situation in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem as major factors in the breakdown of any meaningful progress toward peace.
“The possibility of a two-state solution is being eroded before our eyes,” Carney stated, holding Israel’s leadership accountable for its “ongoing failure” to prevent humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
He added that for decades, the international community had hoped for a peace agreement through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but that prospect had been repeatedly stalled or undermined.
France's similar move, announced by President Emmanuel Macron, is seen as a major diplomatic development and could lead to a broader shift in European and Western policy toward the conflict. However, Israel has strongly condemned the decision, calling it a “reward for terror”, while US President Donald Trump dismissed it as “pointless and premature.”
With Canada now joining France, momentum appears to be building within the international community in favour of Palestinian recognition, even as tensions on the ground continue to escalate.
More developments are expected in the lead-up to the UN General Assembly in September, which could see a historic wave of recognitions for Palestinian statehood.