Will an NDP call to recognize Palestinian statehood split Liberal MPs?

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada will not change its foreign policy based on a push from the NDP to “officially recognize the state of Palestine.”

Joly defended her government’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict Monday as MPs debated a New Democrat motion calling on the Liberals to recognize Palestinian statehood, which is non-binding and if passed would represent the will of the House of Commons, not the will or policy of the Canadian government.

She says the government believes a hostage deal must be reached and a humanitarian ceasefire established, and that aid be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip more freely.

Joly says “there are issues” with the NDP’s motion, and that Canada “can’t change foreign policy based on an opposition motion.”

Members of Parliament are set to vote on the motion later Monday.

The ongoing conflict has caused a divide within the Liberal caucus, members of which discussed the motion during a morning call ahead of the debate.

Heather McPherson, the NDP’s foreign affairs critic, said ahead of the vote that “now is the time to recognize Palestine.”

She detailed the unfolding humanitarian crisis amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, adding that the thousands of Palestinian children who aid groups warn are starving “are not Hamas.”

“The choice to refuse aid to these children is political,” McPherson said.

Outspoken Liberal MP Salma Zahid, who represents an east Toronto riding, says she intends to vote in favour of the motion.

But Anthony Housefather, a Liberal from Montreal, said on social media that the motion calls for a list of measures that are “hostile to Israel.”

Housefather said over the weekend that the motion fails to include a demand that Hamas surrender and no longer rule Gaza.

“Changing