Memo backs truce with Hamas
OTTAWA • Federal officials have told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas would be in both of their interests.
The advice is contained in a memo written for the incoming prime minister, and represents for some analysts a noticeable shift in policy t oward t he Middle East from nearly 10 years of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper.
The c o nt e nt s of t he memo, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, are timely: Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip Wednesday, the first violent flare- up there since the 50- day summer war between Israel and Hamas in 2014.
Canada has formally listed Hamas, which controls Gaza, as a terrorist group.
Israel, meanwhile, has denied sporadic reports that it has been talking with Hamas.
The memo to Trudeau lays out the geopolitical stakes in the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians, but does not specify any role for Canada.
It says there are “persistent reports of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at negotiating an extended ceasefire.” It notes that the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, is “concerned that it is being shut out of the process, while the government of Israel has denied reports that such negotiations are underway.”
“After three wars with Israel and limited reconstruction on Gaza’s infrastructure, a truce between Israel and Hamas would be in their respective interests,” the memo says.
Harper blamed the destruction of Gaza solely on Hamas, condemning it for rocket attacks on Israel.
The memo shows the Trudeau government coming to terms with a “geopolitically significant” development in the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, said Kamran Bokhari of the University of Ottawa’s Security and Policy Institute.
“It’s a pretty sharp contrast with the position of the Harper government, which was very much anti- Hamas and very much pro- Israel,” said Bokhari, who is also a fellow with George Washington University’s Program on Extremism at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security.
The memo reflects the “ideological divide” as well as a geographical one that characterizes the state of the Palestinian people, he said.
An Israeli official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said Hamas is a terrorist organization and its main purpose is to destroy the state of Israel. “Negotiating with it or dealing with it is not something that is plausible or beneficial,” the official said.
The memo was provided by the Privy Council Office in preparation for the incoming Liberal government.
Since his Oct. 19 election, Trudeau has affirmed Canada’s ongoing support of Israel, but his office has said the tone of relationship might change.