Your Joint Statement today, on new Palestinian Government, with Ms. Jose'e Verner, International Cooperation Minister, displays complete disregard to the basic principles of international law. You call on the new Palestinian Government to recognise the state of Israel and all previous agreements. Which state of Israel are you asking the new Palestinian government to recognise? The state of Israel, since its inception, has refused to define it borders. Israeli first prime minister, David Ben Gurion stated clearly Israel's expansionist programme. In 1954, after Israel had already occupied half of the state assigned for the Palestinians, in UN Resolution # 181, thus taking contol of 78% of historic Palestine, he stated: " To maintain the status quo will not do. We have set up a dynamic state bent upon axpansion" [Rebirth and destiny of Israel, The Philosophical Press, New York, 1954, p.419]. This expansionist programme proceeded to commit wars of aggression in 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, against Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon, and continues to this day in the statements by Israel latest and current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who stated only yesterday, that he plans new borders for Israel annexing the colonies built on illegally occupied territories in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, as planned in the Sharon Apartheid Wall, which has been condemned as illegal, by the International Court of Justice, as illegal and must be dismantled.

We have been led to believe, Mr. MacKay, that Canada is proud to uphold the UN Charter and international law. If this is so, you should be calling on Israel to comply with all UN resolutions, related to this conflict and terminate completely and unconditionally its illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territory, that has been allowed to stand for 39 years, in defiance of international law and Security Council resolutions.