MacKay Tells New Palestinian PM That Canada Wants to Help Financially

By PAT HEWITT

(CP) – The Canadian government says it is willing to work with the new Palestinian emergency cabinet while a Canadian security think tank says the new Palestinian political regime could turn out to be a good move for Palestinians.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay spoke with new Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad for about 15 minutes from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia on Sunday and told him that Canada wants to help financially.

Dan Dugas, a spokesman for MacKay, said in an email that the minister told Fayyad that the Harper government will explore in the days and weeks ahead how to best do that.

In a statement earlier, the minister said Canada will work with the new emergency cabinet sworn in by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Sunday.

He said Ottawa supported the decision to dissolve the former Palestinian government and outlaw armed elements of the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The new cabinet, which includes human rights activists and business people, replaced a Hamas-Fatah coalition that Abbas dismantled after Hamas seized control of Gaza last week following a series of deadly battles with Abbas’ Fatah movement.

Now Palestinians find themselves with two governments-Fayyad’s new cabinet in the West Bank, and the Hamas leadership headed by ousted prime minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza.

MacKay also said in his statement that Canada will continue to send aid to Palestinian refugees.

“Canada will continue to respond to the humanitarian needs of Palestinian people, including refugees. We continue to support the voices of moderation within Palestinian society to help bring peace and stability,” said MacKay.

The foreign minister also spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, for about 15 minutes and encouraged her to work with the new Palestinian government and Livni indicated a will to do that.

For its part, Hamas said it will not recognize or work with the new cabinet.

John Thompson of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think-tank specializing in security and terrorism issues, told the Canadian Press in an interview that the new cabinet has some exciting players on it.

“The Palestinian prime minister has brought in some economists, and actually some people who are fairly liberal by Palestinian standards. This actually could be a government that the Israelis and the rest of the world could find quite acceptable,” said Thompson.

As for this potentially being a step toward new peace talks, Thompson cautions against getting too excited.

But “it’s certainly a chance for some improvements for aid and support to flow from the western world into Palestinian hands but also perhaps for the Israelis and Fatah to work their way around some minor issues and work out some concessions,” said Thompson.

But he thinks the chances for violence to erupt again between Hamas and Fatah are “extremely high,” saying Fatah isn’t popular among many Palestinians, especially younger ones, noting the average age of some of the West Bank is just over 16.

An Israeli company has cut off the gasoline supply to Gaza and Thompson said that might help limit the threat Hamas poses by being in control of Gaza.

“Gaza in the hands of Hamas is a severe threat, not just to Israel, but also to Egypt,” said Thompson.

Israel’s prime minister met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York Sunday and raised the issue of an international peacekeeping force between Gaza and Egypt. But Thompson is not optimistic such a plan would work.

He called it just “another layer of complexity that won’t be able to guarantee any improvements.”

Thompson doesn’t think many countries would want to send their troops and personnel there. He said keeping Gaza under control is best left up to the Israelis and Egyptians.

As for any role Canada might play, Thompson said it should be limited.

“If it’s time to provide aid that works, provide it. If it’s time to stand back, stand back. If it’s time to recognize Fatah government, to encourage it in a positive direction do so. But let’s not be leaping in to provide new initiatives and to try to open up new channels. There’s enough other people doing that as it is,” said Thompson.