Canada: Israel’s Rafah offensive is ‘unacceptable' as Palestinians 'have nowhere to go’

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - An Israeli offensive on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah is “unacceptable because Palestinians have nowhere to go” Canada’s foreign minister said on Sunday.

“We believe in the right of Israel to exist … We also have a foreign policy all about human security … And the protection of civilians has been at the core of everything we’ve been doing,” Melanie Joly said during a panel discussion at Germany’s Munich Security Conference.

Discussing the Palestinian and Israeli situation with her Spanish and Jordanian counterparts, as well as with a former Israeli foreign minister, Joly outlined Canada’s vision for a lasting peace.

First, she said, “we need an Israeli government that is willing to talk about a two-state solution.”

At the same time, she said Arab nations must normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, which would include a security deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“We could have a very different Munich security conference next year. But time is of the essence; we only have a couple of months,” she said. “(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu cannot just continue to wage his war.”

Some 1.5 million Palestinians previously displaced by Israel's offensive on Gaza are holed up in Rafah, seeking refuge from hostilities that have laid waste to wide swathes of Palestinian territory.

Israel's reported plans for an offensive on the city have sounded international alarm bells, with many countries urging restraint or cancelation of the operation.