Aviva Klompas: Palestinians deserve the dignity of accountability

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNP Comment Aviva Klompas: Palestinians deserve the dignity of accountability If Palestinians are entitled to sovereignty, then their leaders should be responsible for building institutions that make sovereignty viable Author of the article: By Aviva Klompas , Special to National Post Published Sep 13, 2026 Last updated 2 hours ago 3 minute read Join the conversation A photo tweeted by Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly of her meeting in the West Bank with the territory's leader on March 12, 2024. The photo also includes the Jewish Liberal cabinet minister Ya'ara Saks holding hands with Mahmoud Abbas. @melaniejoly/X Article content On July 30, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would recognize a Palestinian state. He was careful to explain that recognition was not unconditional. Article content Canada’s decision, Carney said, was predicated on commitments from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to fundamentally reform Palestinian governance, hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas could play no part and demilitarize a future Palestinian state. Article content Article content Article content These conditions never answered the most obvious objection to Canada’s policy: Why recognize a state before the institutions capable of governing it peacefully and democratically actually exist? Article content Right? The National Post newsletter that doesn’t hold back, giving readers the unvarnished truth on media, politics and culture. Sign Up By signing up, you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Canada went ahead and did it anyway. Article content There is a curious double standard at the heart of Canada’s policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel is treated as a country whose leaders make choices and must live with their consequences. Palestinians are treated as a people to whom history happens. Article content Consider the typical diplomatic discussion surrounding the conflict. Israel must accept a ceasefire, restrain its military, halt settlement expansion, negotiate with its enemies, make territorial concessions and articulate a credible political horizon. Some of those demands are reasonable and others can be debated, but they all make it clear that Israel possesses agency. Article…