Palestinian Arab leaders upset with Canada's prime minister

The Globe and Mail publishes an article by Nabil Sha'ath, Fatah foreign relations commissioner, member of the PLO Political Committee and former foreign minister.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has visited Palestine.

He has met with President Mahmoud Abbas, and he would have been received with the grace and generosity of spirit that is characteristic of Abu Mazen and his people. Mr. Harper will be able to say that he visited Mr. Abbas.

But other than this official meeting, nobody else is asking to meet Mr. Harper. This would not have been the case with a Canadian leader only a few years ago, and it is a shame that it has become the case today.

Unlike previous governments, the current Canadian government has done everything possible in order to undermine Palestine's international status and stand in the way of our right to self-determination, acting in disrespect for international law.

The past few years have witnessed a shocking voting record in the UN, which has left Canada almost alone in many instances. Canada has declined to vote even on basic, near-universally accepted resolutions, such as the illegality of Israeli settlements or the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

Meanwhile, actions such as Foreign Minister John Baird’s meeting with Tzipi Livni in occupied East Jerusalem in June, 2013, and Canada's lobby against Palestine's UN bid have taken Canada outside of international consensus, making Canada part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

How many people reading this realize that Fatah still supports terrorism, today, and even insists that killing Jewish women and children is one of their rights under international law?

How many Globe and Mail readers realize that Sha'ath is on the record, multiple times, as saying that a Palestinian Arab state would be a springboard to taking over Israel?

Sha'ath and the entire PLO and Fatah leadership  looks at "Palestine " as a Trojan horse, which, together with the "right of return" will destroy the Jewish state. They really don't try to hide this. Too bad the Globe and Mail passed up their opportunity to expose him as a hypocrite.

Meanwhile, I imagine that the PLO isn't too happy with Norway either.

The new Norwegian government, which so far was considered one of the most hostile administrations facing Israel, is working towards bracing the ties between the two countries and enhancing mutual cooperation in an array of fields.

The conservative-progressive minority government, which was established some three months ago, included an article in its elections platform that states that the government will change its Middle East policy and implement a more balanced course of action. This is in stark opposition to previous leftist administrations, whose policy was clearly pro-Arab.

As part of the new policy, Norway's Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader Erna Solberg is expected to make a visit to Israel later this year. It will be the first visit of a Norwegian prime minister in over a decade. Solberg was also among the first world leaders to issue a letter of condolences following the passing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Cue the outrage.