Canada Criticizes Sharon's Hard-line Policy

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 08, 2002

Canada Criticizes Sharon's Hard-line Policy

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Canada on Wednesday criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's policy of striking hard against Palestinian militants, saying Ottawa questioned "certain practices" that caused civilian casualties.

The move by Foreign Minister Bill Graham marked a change in recent Canadian policy toward the Middle East, since Ottawa has followed Washington's line that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must do more to stop attacks by militant groups.

But Graham, speaking to a biennial meeting of Canada's most powerful pro-Israel lobby, at the last moment deleted much more specific denunciations of Israeli policies from his speech.

At least 10 Palestinians and two Israelis died on Wednesday as Israeli forces swept through the Gaza Strip in a hunt for militants. Sharon has vowed to hit Palestinians so hard they will stop attacking Israeli targets.

International concern at the rapidly increasing death toll is mounting, and Graham -- making his first major foreign policy speech since assuming his post in January -- told the Canada-Israel Committee of his own misgivings.

"Innocent civilian casualties, for example, no matter what their background or religion, are not justifiable and ultimately compromise Israel's image as a vital and compassionate nation as well as ultimately undermining the hopes of Palestinians," he said.

In a change from his prepared text, Graham deleted criticism of the Israeli military's policy of demolishing civilian housing and making incursions into refugee camps on the grounds that this could only make matters worse.

But Mazen Chouaib, the executive director of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, welcomed the speech.

"What is good about this is that he recognizes that Israel has violated international law and continues to violate international law ... Canada sees things as they are," he said.

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