Ottawa calls for probe into demolished Canadian water treatment plant in Gaza
Social media video shows Rafah facility being levelled by explosives
The Canadian government is "assessing the damage" at a demolished water treatment plant and facility in Gaza that it built 25 years ago, while asking Israel for a full and independent investigation into what occurred, the country's international development minister says.
"We have expressed our concern to the government of Israel and we've called for a credible, independent investigation into what happened to this particular facility," said Ahmed Hussen said in an interview with CBC News.
"Any damage to structures that provide much-needed water and other supplies to civilians is completely unacceptable."
Social media video began circulating on the weekend of explosives being laid down at the facility, known as the Canada Well, in Tel Sultan, a Rafah neighbourhood.
The video also showed an explosion levelling the well.
On Monday, Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported the country's army, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) was looking into the demolition. Haaretz's story cited unnamed army sources in saying the facility was destroyed with the approval of a military commander, but not with the approval of senior IDF officers.
In a statement, Israel's embassy in Canada told CBC News Canada's request for an investigation is still being processed and examined in Israel.
Defends approach to Israel-Hamas conflict
Hussen also defended his government's policy positions on the latest conflict pitting Israel versus Hamas, including his own office's role in temporarily freezing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) earlier this year.
That decision came amid allegations by the government of Israel that some of its employees took part in the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Hussen announced on March 8 that funding would be restored.
"They are a lifeline to Palestinians in Gaza and in the region. We were very careful to work with the UN secretary general, to work with UNRWA itself, to work with all the donor countries and the internal mechanisms for accountability and integrity within the UN," he said.
However, he offered no timeline on a question that has dominated foreign policy politics in both Canada and allied countries over the last few months: whether to recognize an independent Palestinian state or not.
- Norway, Ireland and Spain to recognize a Palestinian state
- Canada abstains from UN assembly vote backing Palestinian bid for membership
In May, Canada abstained from a key UN vote on the matter, whereas it had traditionally voted against such resolutions.
"Our new position is a shift and what we are saying now is that we shouldn't necessarily wait until the end of the negotiations [between Israel and a Palestinian government] to recognize the Palestinian state," Hussen said.
"And we'll probably do it sooner than that, at a time of our own choosing and at a time when we feel it would contribute most effectively to the peace process."
Pledges to run again
Hussen also said he will run again in the next election and maintained he has full faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, despite trouble the Liberals have been facing at the polls for the last year.
In a Toronto Star article last week, unnamed Liberal MPs called for change in the cabinet, including Hussen's removal.
Hussen said he had not heard of the story and would not respond to "unattributable comments and rumours and innuendo."
"If I were to do that, we would be here all day because we have 338 members of Parliament," he said. "If you know there's innuendo attributed to each and everyone of them, it's difficult to respond to nameless and faceless comments."
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