Robert Bandanza
January 23rd, 2007, 06:36 AM
Published: Tuesday, January 23, 2007
HERZILIYA, Israel -- Canada intends to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Israel against security threats that the Jewish state faces from Iran and others, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay told an appreciative audience made up of Israel's political, military and intellectual elite yesterday.
"Canada is deeply concerned with the direction that Iran is taking," MacKay said. "The regime in Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons."
The foreign minister -- on his first visit to the Middle East -- urged the international community "to think creatively about what it can do to prevent military action" against Iran which has been openly contemplated by the United States and Israel because of a barrage of threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to use nuclear weapons to destroy Israel.
Canada has its own sharp differences with Iran since the death three years ago of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-born journalist from Montreal who died while in Iranian police custody after being arrested for taking photographs of a student protest in Tehran. Iran originally declared Kazemi's death an accident but an Iranian official later said that while in prison she had been raped and tortured.
MacKay made no reference to Kazemi's fate during his speech at an annual conference which this year had attracted many prominent Americans including U.S. presidential hopefuls such as senators John McCain and John Edwards.
Much of MacKay's address, at a beach hotel on the Mediterranean Sea just north of Tel Aviv, focused on the Harper government's backing of Israel -- based on the common values of "democracy and freedom" that the two countries shared, MacKay said.
He also reminded the audience that Canada was the first country to suspend economic aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas -- which Canada regards as a terrorist organization -- won a parliamentary majority 12 months ago.
"Canada has been a staunch defender of Israel's right to defend itself at the G-8 and in NATO," he said.
Responding to criticism from Hamas because he had not sought to meet with its officials during his five days in Jordan, the West Bank and Israel, MacKay said: "If it means standing up against terrorism, then that is criticism that Canada is prepared to accept."
Canada supports a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and encouraged moderate Arab states to help make this possible.
Recalling his meeting last Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan, whose Fatah movement is locked in a bitter power struggle with Hamas, MacKay said he told Abbas "to maintain his courage. He needs support from all of us, his Arab brothers and, of course, Israel."
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
Victoria Times Colonist (http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/world/story.html?id=119a2b17-9290-4c8e-b790-201667e114b0)
HERZILIYA, Israel -- Canada intends to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Israel against security threats that the Jewish state faces from Iran and others, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay told an appreciative audience made up of Israel's political, military and intellectual elite yesterday.
"Canada is deeply concerned with the direction that Iran is taking," MacKay said. "The regime in Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons."
The foreign minister -- on his first visit to the Middle East -- urged the international community "to think creatively about what it can do to prevent military action" against Iran which has been openly contemplated by the United States and Israel because of a barrage of threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to use nuclear weapons to destroy Israel.
Canada has its own sharp differences with Iran since the death three years ago of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-born journalist from Montreal who died while in Iranian police custody after being arrested for taking photographs of a student protest in Tehran. Iran originally declared Kazemi's death an accident but an Iranian official later said that while in prison she had been raped and tortured.
MacKay made no reference to Kazemi's fate during his speech at an annual conference which this year had attracted many prominent Americans including U.S. presidential hopefuls such as senators John McCain and John Edwards.
Much of MacKay's address, at a beach hotel on the Mediterranean Sea just north of Tel Aviv, focused on the Harper government's backing of Israel -- based on the common values of "democracy and freedom" that the two countries shared, MacKay said.
He also reminded the audience that Canada was the first country to suspend economic aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas -- which Canada regards as a terrorist organization -- won a parliamentary majority 12 months ago.
"Canada has been a staunch defender of Israel's right to defend itself at the G-8 and in NATO," he said.
Responding to criticism from Hamas because he had not sought to meet with its officials during his five days in Jordan, the West Bank and Israel, MacKay said: "If it means standing up against terrorism, then that is criticism that Canada is prepared to accept."
Canada supports a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and encouraged moderate Arab states to help make this possible.
Recalling his meeting last Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan, whose Fatah movement is locked in a bitter power struggle with Hamas, MacKay said he told Abbas "to maintain his courage. He needs support from all of us, his Arab brothers and, of course, Israel."
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
Victoria Times Colonist (http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/world/story.html?id=119a2b17-9290-4c8e-b790-201667e114b0)