Question Period Note: Canada's Position re: U.S. Policy on Jerusalem

The US' decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital broke with the international consensus that the city's status should be negotiated directly between Israelis and Palestinians.

• Canada is a steadfast ally of and friend of Israel and friend to the Palestinian people.

• Canada's longstanding position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Palestinian Israeli dispute.

• We continue to support the building of conditions necessary for the parties to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

• As the Prime Minister has clearly stated, Canada will not be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

• [On December 2017 Jerusalem vote at the UN] While Canada does not support unilateral actions, we were disappointed that the Jerusalem resolution at the United Nations was one sided and did not advance prospects for peace to which we aspire, which is why we abstained on the vote.

The future status of Jerusalem, including the Old City, is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Israel considers Jerusalem to be its "eternal, undivided capital", while the Palestinians seek a capital of a future Palestinian state in East Jerusalem.

In December 2017, President Trump announced that the United States formally recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital and began the process of moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. In response to the US decision, a December 2017 UN Security Council resolution on Jerusalem was vetoed by the U.S., which was the first time they had used their veto in six years. A subsequent UN General Assembly resolution on the status of Jerusalem was adopted by a recorded vote of 128Y 9N 35A. Canada abstained on this vote. The United States officially opened an interim embassy at the current site of a U.S. consular annex in West Jerusalem in May 2018. In March 2019, the existing US consulate-general was formally integrated into the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, with the consulate-general's responsibilities being redefined as a Palestinian Affairs Unit.

Israel has long sought foreign embassies to be located in Jerusalem, but following the U.S. move only Guatemala relocated its embassy. However, Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Brazil have opened defence, trade and cultural offices in Jerusalem. EU Member States are bound by the EU's common foreign policy approach to this subject which, like Canada, calls for a negotiated agreement to the status of Jerusalem.
As the international consensus on Jerusalem is weakening, Israel is continuing the expansion of settlements and challenging the status quo at the Old City's holy sites, raising tensions between the city's Jewish and Arab residents.

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