JERUSALEM (EJP)—“I’m not here to single out Israel for criticism, there are more than enough to do that, they don’t need me,” Canadian Prime Minister David Harper said Tuesday.
Speaking in Jerusalem at a press conference he said at a joint press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Harper rejected calls to criticize and isolate Israel over the settlement building.
When asked about the settlements issue, he said there were matters Canada and Israel disagreed on, and Canada’s position on those issues was easy to find. However, Netanyahu said Canada was in disagreement with Israel on this matter.
Harper said he has rejected requests from the Palestinians and “half the countries around the world” to criticize and isolate Israel over the settlements issue.
“I find it interesting that yesterday in the Palestinian Authority no one asked me to single out the PA for any criticism about governance or human rights, I’m only asked to single out Israel,” Harper said.
Harper said one of the lessons Canadians have learned is “that when someone is a small minority in the world, one goes out of one’s way to embrace them, not single them out for criticism. That is a fundamental Canadian ethic, which is why many Canadians understand the statement I’m making.”
On Monday, the Canadian Prime Minister announced a $66 million aid program for the Palestinian Authority during a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The Canadian government says the money would “help advance the peace process, promote security and deliver humanitarian assistance.”
Abbas said he discussed with Harper ways of “developing bilateral relations in the field of regional issues of common interest.”
During their talk, Abbas said he reaffirmed to Harper his commitment to pursue peace talks with Israel until the end of the nine-month timeline set by the US Administration, which expires in April.
Abbas expressed hope that the negotiations with Israel would lead to a two-state solution “on the basis of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.”“We held important talks with Harper,” Abbas said after the meeting. “We reviewed the latest developments concerning the peace process, and briefed him on our perspective, and ways of boosting the peace process to enable our people to achieve freedom and independence in a sovereign Palestinian state, on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.”