Late last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his country’s plans to formally recognise Palestine at the upcoming UN general assembly in September 2025. This is a significant update for the Middle East crisis.
It comes after France and 14 other countries co-signed a declaration that pointed in the direction of multiple future recognitions of an independent Palestinian state. France and the UK have also made similar announcements about formally recognising Palestine.
Increasing pressure on Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza
Just days before, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that his country is going to recognise Palestine if the Palestinian authority holds an election in 2026 and the Palestinian militant group Hamas cannot play any role in it.
There are other conditions too, such as Hamas releasing all hostages it is holding, disarm and play no role in the future governance of Palestine. His remarks come amid increasing pressure on Israel to end its military campaign in the Gaza strip.
In response to Mark Carney’s statements, Israel’s ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed noted that Israel is not going to yield to the “distorted campaign of international pressure against it”. This situation is being closely monitored.
UK seeks stronger approach to end the appalling situation in Gaza
The brutal Israel-Hamas fighting has been raging on since October 7, 2023 – in response to Hamas killing some 1,200 people and took back more than 250 people as hostages. In Gaza, Israel’s retaliatory strikes have already killed more than 60,000 people.
British PM Keir Starmer has noted that the UK is going to recognise the state of Palestine unless Israel takes sizeable steps “to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term sustainable peace …”
