'Couldn't have asked for anything more': Winnipegger on Canada's intent to recognize Palestinian statehood
'Had to read it 3 times before I kind of realized that it was actually something that was happening'
When he first read about Canada's intention to recognize an independent Palestinian state, Ramsey Zeid's brain was hesitant to accept the news.
"I had to read it three times before I kind of realized that it was actually something that was happening," said Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba.
It's something he and other Palestinians have been seeking for years, and it was almost as if Prime Minister Mark Carney's declaration was too good to be believed, he said.
"This is amazing news. I couldn't have asked for anything more."
Carney on Wednesday said Canada will acknowledge a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, but only if the West Bank's governing body, the Palestinian Authority, commits to governance reforms.
Among those, the Palestinian Authority must hold an election in 2026 and demilitarize the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Authority has limited control of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and the militant group Hamas has run the Gaza Strip.
Canada's conditions include that Hamas immediately release all hostages taken in the October 2023 attack on Israel, disarm and have no role in the future governance of Palestine, Carney said.
The announcement follows similar commitments from other allied countries, but critics like Belle Jarniewski say it rewards Hamas and terrorism.
"I think that Israelis and Jews in the diaspora are feeling very much abandoned by countries who seem to be accepting a situation that is absolutely unacceptable," said Jarniewski, executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, located in Winnipeg.
"Everything that I've heard from everyone that I know, the response has been tremendous disappointment."
Iddo Moed, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, condemned Carney's announcement in a statement on Wednesday.
"Let us be clear: Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure against it. We will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland that seeks our annihilation," Moed's statement said.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said in a statement that the Palestinian right to exist "both as a state and as a people" is inalienable and not subject to conditions.
"For nearly two years, the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza and beyond has been livestreamed — catastrophic man-made starvation, unrelenting atrocities and children killed while trying to access life-saving aid," the statement said.
"Canada can and must do more," it said, calling on the government to impose additional sanctions on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, implement a full arms embargo, review the countries' free trade deal and support reunification of Gazans and their loved ones.
The UN World Food Program has said a third of Gaza's population was not eating for days and nearly half a million were enduring famine-like conditions.
International aid groups were blocked by the Israeli government from delivering food in Gaza for 2½ months. A U.S.-Israel aid delivery system has been called insufficient and dangerous by other aid organizations.
"The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delay in co-ordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of all human life," Carney said in his announcement.
Manitoba Friends Standing Together held a silent vigil for children who have died because of the war in front of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights Thursday. The group holds the vigil every two weeks.
"We're a little bit more hopeful," said co-founder Emet Eviatar. "This isn't going to stop the children starving in Gaza … but I will take it."
Eviatar was born and raised in Israel, but she said she doesn't agree with the country's actions. She said she would like to see Canada put more pressure on Israel to stop the killing.
"I would like to see maybe conditions that have to do with stopping the starvation and other things that are happening in Gaza and also in the West Bank," she said. "But yeah, we're grateful that they're doing something rather than nothing."
Jarniewski said for Carney to recognize statehood before the reforms must happen in 2026, "is a huge mistake," calling the announcement "very pre-mature and ill-advised."
'Raise that flag high'
To Zeid, it confirms that Palestinians have their own country.
"It legitimizes what we've been working for, what we've been fighting for, for years."
On a more local level, it means emotional fulfilment, he said.
"We've been trying for years to have the Palestinian flag raised at city hall, at the legislative building, on different occasions, and we've always got turned down," Zeid said.
"The reason was, we can't raise the Palestinian flag because it's not recognized by the federal government. Now we're going to raise that flag high."
A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said the city will continue to follow its flag policy.
"The City of Winnipeg will fly the national flags of nations who have diplomatic relations with Canada, as recognized by the government of Canada, on a recognized national day," the spokesperson said.
"The mayor's office reserves the right to determine whether or not to fly the flag of a recognized nation when there is political unrest or conflict in that country."
The spokesperson said the decision to fly any given country's flag doesn't express support for the politics of that country.
With files from Marcy Markusa and Matt Humphrey