The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, will not say if she believes that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, is proposing ethnic cleaning in the Gaza Strip, but is calling her recent “abhorred” comments.
Trump surprised the leaders in the Middle East and beyond this week when he suggested that the Palestinian territory be clear and turned into a tourist destination of American property.
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz says he has instructed Israel's military to write a plan to evacuate any Palestinian gaza “who wishes to leave” Gaza for countries like Canada.
Human Rights Watch and similar groups say that Trump's plan would be equivalent to ethnic cleaning, an opinion shared by International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen and Justice Minister Arif Virani.
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When asked twice if he agrees, Joly cited Canada's position on the conflict in Israel-Palestine and said that “the comments were abhorred.”
She said that the Palestinians have the right to self -determination and argued that the best future for the Middle East is a solution of two states, with a Palestinian state that lives in peace with Israel.
“We do not believe in the forced displacement of people and we believe that everything we do must agree with international law,” Joly told the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Friday.
She said that a solution of two states would allow Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel and create more stability in the Middle East.
Joly added that countries should focus on exercising “maximum pressure against Iran” to stop working with Russia and China to sow instability in the region.
– With files from Michael Macdonald in Halifax
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press