NDP pushing Liberals to recognize state of Palestine as U.K., U.S. signal openness

New Democrats are calling on the Liberal government to have Canada formally recognize Palestine as a state, saying it would help advance peace in the Middle East.

"It's time for Canada to do more, to build a peaceful resolution for the people of Palestine and the people of Israel," NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said Tuesday.

McPherson will table a private member's motion in the House of Commons that would recognize Palestinian territories as a sovereign state.

The motion should appear in parliamentary documents Wednesday but is unlikely to come up for a vote anytime soon. Still, McPherson is asking MPs to endorse it and pressure the federal government to follow through.

The British and U.S. governments bothhave recently said they're considering fully recognizing Palestine once the Israel-Hamas war ends, she noted.

The Opposition Conservatives did not respond right away when asked if they would endorse the motion, while Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly's office did not directly answer the question.

"Canada believes that the only way to achieve the goal of a comprehensive, justand lasting peace in the Middle East is in the form of a two-state solution, including the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security," wrote Joly's spokespersonIsabella Orozco-Madison.

McPherson announced her motion on Parliament Hill, flanked by a handful of fellow caucus members. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was not present, though his office said he and all caucus members support the motion.

For decades, the Canadian government has endorsed the eventual creation of a Palestinian country that exists in peace alongside Israel the essence of what's known as the two-state solution.

Canada currently recognizes the Palestinian territories as entities separate from Israel, but not as a state unto themselves.

Palestine has a diplomatic delegation and ambassador that are fully recognized by Ottawa but not as representatives of a countrymuch the way the European Union ambassador is recognized byOttawa.

WATCH:Chief representative of the Palestinian Delegation 'shocked and saddened' by Canada's response

Chief representative of the Palestinian Delegation shocked and saddened by Canadas response

8 months ago

Duration 11:28

The International Court of Justice ordered a set of provisional measures for Israel to prevent genocidal acts and any direct incitements to genocide in Gaza. Canada issued a statement today reiterating its support for the ICJ, while saying that doesnt mean it endorses South Africas genocide case against Israel. Mona Abuamara, the chief representative of the Palestinian Delegation to Canada, says that it reminded her of a dehumanizing and anti-Palestinian statement.

"I've never understood how the Liberals or the Conservatives can say that they believe in a two-state solution and not recognize two states," McPherson said with a shrug.

Doing so would be a necessary step in pushing back against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing efforts to thwart such an outcome, she said.

"From that position, then you can start having peaceful conversations, then you can start looking at what the state of Palestine would look like," she said.

Much of Asia and Africa already recognizes Palestine as a state.

Mona Abuamara, the Palestinian ambassador to Canada, has been saying for months that Ottawa should do the same.

South Africa joined those calls following a January ruling by the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel to prevent a genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.