Israel 'taken aback' by Canada's threat of action over war, wants Carney to visit: ambassador

OTTAWA — Israel’s ambassador in Ottawa says his country is “quite taken aback” by Canada’s decision to threaten action alongside the United Kingdom and France, over its war against Hamas and believes Prime Minister Mark Carney ought to pay the Israel a visit.  “This is unprecedented,” Iddo Moed,   Israel’s ambassador to Canada, told National Post in an interview Tuesday.  “This has never happened in the past and so this is why we are taken aback. That’s an understatement, I would say.” On Monday, Canada, the U.K., and France released a joint statement to say they “strongly oppose the expansion of  Israel ’s military operations in Gaza,” calling its latest actions “wholly disproportionate.” It came after Israel announced it was launching an “extensive” ground offensive in Gaza and would be allowing more basic aid into the area, where thousands are starving and the threat of widespread famine has only worsened. The countries’ leaders took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that, should Israel not stop its military actions and restricting of humanitarian aid, they would take “further concrete actions in response.” On Tuesday, the British government announced it was hitting settlers in the West Bank with sanctions and suspending talks about a free trade agreement with Israel. Carney, who is spending the day meeting behind closed-doors with his cabinet, has not yet announced whether Canada would take further action. Canada has previously levied sanctions against those responsible for settler violence in the West Bank and opposes further settlements. In their statement, Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron cited the “intolerable suffering” unfolding in Gaza, calling the announcement Israel made the day before to allow basic quantities of food into the area “ wholly inadequate.” They demanded Israel’s government halt its military operations and for Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken captive when militants stormed into southern Israel in October 2023. Their statement said Israel must also “ immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza,” including by working with the United Nations.  In a post on X, Netanyahu said by asking Israel to stop its “defensive war,” the leaders were giving a “huge prize” to Hamas, a designated terrorist entity which governs the Gaza Strip and carried out the October 2023 attacks, which killed around 1,200 civilians and saw 251 people taken hostage.  There remain 58 hostages in Hamas captivity. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rejected Carney’s statement, pointing to how Hamas had thanked Canada for its statement on Israel by calling it a “step in the right direction.” “Threatening Israel with sanctions and “further concrete actions” while a terrorist group on their borders holds their citizens hostage and refuses to stop attacking Israel is wrong,” Poilievre posted on X. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, a Canadian Jewish advocacy organization, said Carney’s statement undercuts earlier remarks he made that Hamas ought to lay down its weapons and have no role in governing Gaza. Pressure from the international community has been mounting on Israel to cease its war with Hamas, with agencies like the United Nations citing figures from the Gaza Health Ministry that more than 53,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed since Israel began its offensive. The Gaza Healthy Ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. Moed said on Tuesday that no country will tell Israel how to conduct its war that it is focused on trying to eliminate the designated terror group and securing the release of the remaining 58 hostages.   The ambassador declined to speculate on what Israel may do should Canada follow through on its threat of taking further action against Israel. He said channels of communication between Israel and Canada remain open and that both countries spent the past weekend exchanging messages about efforts Israel is making to get aid to people in Gaza “and not into the hands of Hamas.” As of Tuesday, Israel said dozens more trucks entered Gaza. It also said that Hamas is responsible for stealing aid that enters Gaza. Tom Fletcher, U.N. humanitarian chief, has called the aid that has been allowed to enter a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”  While Moed said he has yet to speak to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand since she was named to the post last week, he believes Carney should pay a visit to the country to see the situation for himself. “I think that he should,” he said. “Seeing the reality on the ground brings perspective into opinions.” Particularly, he said, to better understand Israel’s opposition to seeing a two-state solution, which has been Canada and other G7 countries’ longstanding position to bring peace to the region. – With additional reporting from The Associated Press National Post staylor@postmedia.com Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. 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