Mark Carney Pledges $100 Million in Aid for Palestine

Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged 100 million Canadian dollars in new aid for Palestine during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The package allocates 80 million dollars to humanitarian aid and 20 million dollars to security initiatives, including the training of police in the West Bank. This latest contribution brings Canada's total funding for the Palestinian cause to 600 million dollars since October 2023.

Carney proposed expanding Operation Proteus, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police training mission, from the West Bank into the Gaza Strip once conditions permit. He stated that Palestinians face "immense human suffering" while Israelis face "existential threats from Hamas and from Iran and its proxies." However, the funding comes amid reports that the Palestinian National Authority failed to meet Canadian conditions for reform, such as holding presidential elections and ending "pay for slay" pensions.

Other Western leaders used the assembly to demand urgent action. French President Emmanuel Macron called the restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza "shameful," while British Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned that failing to achieve a two-state solution would "corrode trust" in the international diplomatic process. Canada, the United Kingdom, and France also jointly announced bans on imports from West Bank settlements.

Critics, including Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, argued the aid is "deeply unserious" because Canada has not held Israel accountable for the destruction of Canadian-funded projects by the military and settlers.