$1M pledge angers Israeli envoy
• An announcement this week that Canada would provide funding for Palestinian women who have survived sexual violence drew an immediate rebuke from a senior Israeli official.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly made the $1-million pledge on social media Tuesday.
“We believe Palestinian women,” she posted on X.
“Allegations on sexual and gender-based violence against them must be investigated and Palestinian women must be supported.”
Within minutes, Israel's envoy for combating antisemitism criticized the post.
Michal Cotler-Wunsh wrote that the funding is “supporting blood-libel inversion of fact” that will fuel rising anti-Jewish sentiment.
“It is also a betrayal and undermining of Canada's commitment to uphold and protect foundational principles of life and liberty,” she said on X.
Joly's office would not say whether Canada believes Israeli forces are perpetrating sexual violence on women in Gaza as their war against Hamas continues, nor if the funding pertains to domestic abuse in the Palestinian territories.
The minister's staff would only say that the money will go toward “organizations supporting Palestinian women from the West Bank and Gaza who are survivors of sexual violence, no matter the circumstance.”
Earlier this week, Joly announced the same amount of money to support Israeli women who have been victims of sexual violence by Hamas, months after a cross-partisan group of Canadian former politicians asked Canada to pledge $1 million.
It is unclear which groups will receive the funding announced for women in each region.
Canada is also offering RCMP support for investigations, though it's unclear whether Israeli officials have made any specific request.
In recent months, Israeli police have said forensic evidence of rape was not preserved in the chaos of the attack and Hamas killed many of the people who were believed to be victims of sexual assault.
The Conservatives have argued the Liberals were late in condemning sexual violence by Hamas, and argued statements by the government about gendered violence in general had downplayed the horrors of last October's attacks.
Last month, a group of United Nations experts said they were distressed by unconfirmed reports that Palestinian women and girls in Israeli detention have faced sexual assault.
The accusations included two reports of rape, threats of sexual assault and strip searches by male Israeli soldiers. The experts said they were seeking an impartial investigation.
Pramila Patten, the UN envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict, told the UN Security Council on Monday that when she visited the West Bank she didn't receive any reports of rape, but instances of sexual violence during the detention of both Palestinian men and women were raised.
These included invasive body searches, unwanted touching of intimate areas, beatings in the genital areas, threats to men of rape against their women family members, “and inappropriate strip searches and prolonged forced nudity of detainees,” she said.
Patten said she raised these reports with Israeli authorities, who provided her with information on their protocols to prevent such acts.