Canada's parliament to vote on motion backing Palestinian statehood

Canadian legislators are due on Monday to vote on a non-binding motion backing Palestinian statehood that has drawn condemnation from Israel and that could deepen splits inside the ruling Liberal Party. Although the government is free to ignore the result of the vote in the House of Commons elected chamber, it could cause political problems for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The motion was drawn up by the minority left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), who are helping keep Trudeau's Liberals in power and are unhappy by what they see as his failure to do enough to protect the civilian population in Gaza. The motion calls on Canada to "officially recognize the State of Palestine" - a step that no member of the Group of Seven industrialized nations has taken - and suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel. It also demands an immediate cease-fire, an end to illegal arms transfers to Hamas and calls on the terror group to release all the hostages it took during the Oct. 7 attacks.  (Reuters) 