NDP urges government to recognize Palestinian statehood, sanction Israeli officials

The NDP is urging the Liberals to recognize Palestinian statehood and says that a Conservative government would not protect international law in the Middle East.

NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson is accusing the Trudeau government of lacking the courage to advance its stated goal of bringing about a two-state solution, where Israel and a Palestinian country co-exist peacefully.

McPherson is calling for Canada to sanction far-right ministers in Israel who have suggested it would be justifiable to starve Palestinians and that some communities should be annihilated.

The NDP is also seeking a two-way arms embargo, one that would go beyond barring new arms permits and actually block all military trade, including goods arriving from Israel.

Israeli strikes killed more than 270 people in Lebanon today and wounded a thousand people a week after pager explosions that killed Hezbollah militants as well as civilians and children.

McPherson would not say whether she believes the pager attack, which has been widely attributed to Israel, is an act of terrorism. She said that Israel is not following international law.