OTTAWA, March 30 (UPI) -- Canada became the second country, after Israel, to sever diplomatic ties and financial aid to the new Hamas-led Palestinian government.
"This is very much in keeping with what we've consistently said: that we would require an incoming government to ... respect existing agreements to follow the road map to recognize Israel as a state and to renounce all violence," Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said in Ottawa Wednesday.
The financial aid to be withheld totals $6.2 million, the Globe & Mail reported Thursday.
Canada's dealings with the Palestinian Authority have so far been through the office of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah party lost control of the legislative branch in the January election. MacKay said communication with Abbas would continue.
Hussein Amery, the president of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, denounced Canada's move.
"It's disappointing that Canada has chosen to be the first of the international actors to suspend aid to the Palestinian Authority," Amery said.
As with Israel, the United States and numerous European governments, Canada considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization.
