STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Israeli, Chinese policies ‘concern’ Canada, undermine freedom, says Trudeau

Jun 2, 2020 | 11:10 AM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has waded into the foreign policies of Israel and China, expressing concerns over separate but controversial positions that he says undermine peace in both places.

Trudeau is denouncing Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

He says he has expressed Canada’s concern and disagreement over the proposed annexation directly to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, the country’s “alternate” prime minister under a power-sharing agreement.

Trudeau reiterated Canada’s view on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians — Canada favours a two-state solution and does not approve of “unilateral” actions by either side.

He also called on China to engage constructively with the people of Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a new national-security law that has fuelled widescale protests.

Canada, Britain, the United States and Australia have jointly denounced the new law as a violation of Hong Kong’s freedom from Chinese communist interference.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2020.

The Canadian Press