Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who last month declared his country's support for a Palestinian state, said he would honor an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit Canada.
Carney was asked Friday on Bloomberg's "The Mishal Husain Show" whether he would enforce the ICC warrant issued in November 2024 for alleged war crimes tied to Israel's military response to the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Netanyahu has denounced the court's decision.
"Yes," Carney said, echoing the stance taken by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
"You'd be prepared to do that?" Husain said.
"Yes," Carney replied.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 people and took them to Gaza.
Ophir Falk, a political adviser to Netanyahu, told The Globe and Mail of Toronto on Saturday that Carney is "betraying" Israel and should reconsider his willingness to arrest Netanyahu if he visits Canada.
"We had hoped that after Canada endorsed President Trump's Middle East 20-point peace plan, Prime Minister Carney would retract his policy of appeasing terrorism and betraying Canada's traditional ally," Falk said.
Falk described Israel's two-year war in Gaza — now paused for a week under a fragile ceasefire brokered by the Trump administration — as "a just war by just means against a genocidal terrorist organization that carried out the worst atrocities against the Jewish people since the Holocaust."
Carney told Husain that Canada's decision last month to recognize a Palestinian state was a direct response to the Netanyahu government's conduct.
"What we saw — just to be clear about why we did what we did — was that the actions of the current government, the Netanyahu government, were explicitly designed to end any possibility of a state of Palestine in violation of the U.N. Charter and going against Canadian government policy of whatever political stripe since 1947," Carney said.
"We did this because the prospect was receding — as opposed to viewing it as any sort of panacea, game-changer fundamentally."
Canada's recognition of a Palestinian state put it at odds with the U.S., though it acted alongside France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other nations at the U.N.
Falk also accused Canada of tolerating growing antisemitism, calling it "among the greatest in all Western countries."
"Prime Minister Carney's unconditional call for a Palestinian state poured fuel on this antisemitic fire," he said. "It rewarded Hamas terror and emboldens those who menace Canadian Jews."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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