Large interview with Jon Allen | No, Canada does not play Hamas’ game

As if the humanitarian situation in Gaza was not appalling enough, here we predict a new escalation of Israeli military operations in this devastated territory¹.

Meanwhile, Canada, like some European countries, says it is ready to recognize a Palestinian state.

But is that really what is suitable for current circumstances? And in fact, what would this recognition be used for?

“Recognizing the Palestinian state will not open the valves of humanitarian aid. It will not force Bibi Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire. It will not force Hamas to release the hostages, to go into exile and to disarm. There is no doubt about it, ”said Jon Allen first.

The one who was ambassador of Canada to Israel from 2006 to 2010 is today attached to the Bill Graham center for contemporary international history of the University of Toronto.

I interviewed him as part of this column because he is also one of the 173 former diplomats who signed a letter last week to ask Mark Carney to recognize the state of Palestine².

He recognizes the limits of the initiative, therefore.

But he remains convinced that this gesture – that the Prime Minister of Canada is committed to doing the United Nations in September, under certain conditions – is of the utmost importance³.

First of all because the two-state solution living side by side in peace and security, long perceived as the key to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is deadlocked-and it is an understatement.

The idea is also to say that “Israel should not have a veto on the self -determination of around five million Palestinians”.

This commitment therefore makes it possible to show the Palestinians that the West will “continue to put pressure on Israel to ensure that the country does not take additional measures to put an end to the possibility of two states”.

It is also, of course, a way of making the Israeli government understand that “what is happening in Gaza and in the West Bank is simply unacceptable”.

Jon Allen believes that Mark Carney demonstrated it, when he announced, on July 30, his intention to recognize the state of Palestine⁴.

The Prime Minister said, for example, that “the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and is still worsening”. He also mentioned the acceleration of the construction of colonies in the West Bank.

Unsurprisingly, the idea of recognizing the Palestinian state was quickly criticized in the United States by the Trump administration.

“It will greatly complicate the conclusion of a trade agreement with them. Oh ! Canada! “Wrote Donald Trump on Truth Social.

His spokesperson Karoline Leavitt then declared that the President of the United States “has the impression that it is a way of rewarding Hamas at a time when Hamas is the real obstacle to a cease-fire and the release of all hostages”.

What does Jon Allen respond to the allegations that Canada, France and the United Kingdom make Hamas play?

“Of course, Hamas will say: Oh, it’s great,” adds the expert. But because, because Hamas will say that it is good news that Canada has recognized Palestine, we have to remain silent on what is happening in the Middle East? »»

Jon Allen insists, moreover, during our interview, to appoint the horrors for which this terrorist organization is responsible.

For him, for him, to obscure or minimize them.

“Hamas committed war crimes and crimes against humanity on October 7, 2023. It was horrible,” he said.

“We are not ignoring the fact either [que ses membres] continue to commit war crimes by letting their own fellow citizens be killed in many ways, and always retaining hostages, “said the expert.

Not to mention that, whenever the peace process was on track, Hamas sought to have it derailed. And with the massacres of October 2023, the terrorist organization made it go back “of several years”.

But the atrocities of Hamas should not be used, according to him, to absolve the faults of the Israeli government.

“The legitimate law for self -defense of a country like Israel does not allow a seat or a collective punishment which consists in depriving a whole population of food, medicines, water and electricity. It also does not allow indiscriminate bombing, ”he says.

I finish by stressing that even if Jon Allen understands the feeling of almost generalized helplessness in the face of the current crisis, he does not lose hope.

Moreover, this former diplomat is also chairman of the Canadian Board of Directors of the NGO Rozana, which promotes cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis in the field of health care. It plans to open a medical clinic in Gaza shortly.

But for a real exit of the crisis, it will take more “good leaders”, according to Mr. Allen. Both on the side of the Palestinians and on the side of the Israelis, but also at the head of the United States.

“I continue to believe that things will change,” he says. Because the other way, which is that Israelis and Palestinians “continue to kill each other” for many decades, is simply untenable.

1. Read the AFP dispatch “Israel must” defeat Hamas completely “to release the hostages, says Netanyahu”

2. Read the letter from the 173 ex-Canadian Diplomats in favor of the Palestinian State recognition

3. The Prime Minister of Canada cited “the will of the Palestinian authority to conduct essential reforms, in particular the president’s promise [Mahmoud] Abbas to deeply reform its governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas will not be able to play any role and to demilitize the Palestinian state ”. He also said “that Hamas must immediately release all the hostages captured during the horrible terrorist attack on October 7 [2023]that he must lay down his arms and that he must not play any role in the future governance of Palestine. ”

4. Read the declaration of Mark Carney

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