\n<\/p>\n
TORONTO (AP) \u2014 Canada will recognize a Palestinian state<\/a> in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday, the latest in a series of symbolic announcements that are part of a broader global shift against Israel’s policies<\/a> in Gaza.<\/p>\n Carney convened a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in the battered Palestinian territory. He said it came after he discussed the crisis with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who announced a similar move<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Leaders are under mounting pressure over the issue as scenes of hunger in Gaza<\/a> have horrified so many across the world. \u201cThe level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” Carney also said. He added that the intention is predicated on the Palestinian Authority \u201cholding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney said he’s \u201cnot in any way or shape minimizing that scale of that task.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cClearly that\u2019s not a possibility in the near term,\u201d the prime minister said, adding that Canada has joined the efforts of other states to \u201cpreserve the possibility of a two state solution.”<\/p>\n Much has to happen before a democratic viable state is established,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pressure to formally recognize Palestinian statehood has mounted since French President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> announced last week that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n As with France and the United Kingdom, Canadian recognition would be largely symbolic, but it\u2019s part of a push by countries against Israel<\/a> and could increase diplomatic pressure for an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including a dozen in Europe. Macron\u2019s announcement last week made France the first Group of Seven country \u2014 and the largest in Europe \u2014 to say it would take that step.<\/p>\n Canada has long supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, but has said recognition should come as part of a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict.<\/p>\n Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, said Israel \u201cwill not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland that seeks our annihilation,\u201d he said in a statement, a referring to the Palestinian militant group Hamas that seized power in Gaza in 2007.<\/p>\n