Harper congratulates Netanyahu on victory
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu on his apparent election victory, but remained silent on the Israeli leader’s assertion that there will not be a Palestinian state as long as he is prime minister.
Netanyahu made the controversial comments over the weekend, in the waning days of an election campaign that many had predicted the longtime Israeli leader could lose.
Instead, his centre- right Likud Party increased its seat count in the Knesset after votes were cast Wednesday. He is now expected to form a coalition government with other right- wing parties in the coming days.
Canada, along with the rest of the world, has been pushing for the establishment of a Palestinian state for decades as part of a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu’s comments would appear to scuttle any hope of such a two- state solution.
Harper took to Twitter on Wednesday to congratulate Netanyahu and say that he is looking forward to working with the Israeli leader’s new government once it is formed. “Israel has no greater friend than ( Canada),” Harper added.
Harper and Netanyahu have developed a warm relationship over the years, and there was undoubtedly relief within Conservative circles over his victory because it ensures the status quo in terms of the relationship between the two countries.
But Harper’s tweet made no mention of the two- state solution, which Canada has long supported, or Netanyahu’s other promise to continue expanding what most of the international community considers illegal settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians.
Paul Dewar, the Opposition NDP foreign affairs critic, said in a statement his party would “be watching as a coalition government emerges.”
A Liberal spokesman said the party would not comment on the election Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to Canada downplayed Netanyahu’s comments Wednesday, and advised people to take the statement “with a grain of salt.”
Speaking at a briefing organized by the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy in Ottawa, Ambassador Rafael Barak suggested Netanyahu’s comments simply reflected Israel’s belief that Palestinians are not truly interested in the Middle East peace process.
“What my prime minister said is related more to the fact that we don’t have a credible interlocutor to date that ( can) come to a compromise,” Barak said.