Commentary
It seems odd that four major Western countries, to the extent that such things still exist, just recognized a Palestinian state that does not exist. There must be a reason, and there is. But as ideas have consequences, dreadful consequences flow from dreadful ideas.
The horror and folly was immediately underlined when Hamas hailed it as “one of the fruits” of the genocidal attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. (Along with the charred or sexually mutilated corpses of idealistic young Israelis and families.) As people had warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and French President Emmanuel Macron they would. Moreover, it is a logical response from Hamas.
That it happened at the start of Rosh Hashana, and something else that doesn’t really exist, “Gender Equity Week,” underlines the peculiarity of the decision. And the decision of all four to go at once isn’t exactly a profile in courage. Nor of clarity because the core peculiarities are that, as many have observed, this supposed Palestinian state is not there and pretending otherwise is rewarding terrorists.
On non-existence, one X post laid down this challenge: “Here’s a fun exercise for any of my followers in the national media or Parliamentary Press gallery. Please ask Prime Minister Carney or Anita Anand to show the borders of the newly recognized independent state of Palestine on a map.”
Likewise, former MP Kevin Vuong asked pointedly: “What exactly is Canada recognizing? What are the borders of this new alleged state? What is the capital city? Who will form government? Who will be its leader? How will this help Palestinians who remain under the iron fist of Hamas and the PA in Gaza and the West Bank, respectively? Also, when did Canadians vote on this? Was this in the Liberal election platform?”
On rewarding terror, when announcing pending recognition in July, Carney did lay out a series of non-existent conditions: “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” and that “Hamas must immediately release all hostages taken in the horrific terrorist attack of October 7; that Hamas must disarm; and that Hamas must play no role in the future governance of Palestine.”
By John Robson
