Harper rejects UN bid for Palestinian statehood

The Canadian Press:

Ottawa - Canada is rejecting a Palestinian effort to win recognition at the United Nations as an independent state.

The move is not surprising given that the Harper government has forcefully highlighted its loyalty to Israel and the United States. Both oppose the Palestinian initiative.

The Palestinian Authority, which controls most of the West Bank, launched a campaign last month that will see it pursue a vote on statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September — an effort borne out of its frustration over a peace process that is stalled.

The Harper government has been widely criticized for siding slavishly with Israel and turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinian people.

Rami Khouri, a leading Mideast analyst based in Lebanon, said in a recent interview that Canada has been traditionally viewed in the region as a country that has had a "sense of decency and fairness in its foreign policy."

But that can be compromised, he added, by siding too much with Israel.

"I think the critical point for any Western government — Canadian, American, British — is to differentiate between supporting the security of Israel and opposing the colonization polices of Israel. Israel within its 1967 borders is a phenomenon the world accepts, even the Arabs," Khouri said.

"Any real friend of Israel should tell Israel, 'we support you, your security but we don't support what you're doing'."

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