Good morning. Canadian soldiers have spent the past two decades in the West Bank, trying to help Palestinians and Israelis work toward a two-state solution – more on that below, along with the bomb cyclone that hit the B.C. coast and TD Bank’s foray into peculiar collectible coins. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Trudeau is expected to unveil GST relief in a multibillion-dollar affordability announcement today
- An expensive cystic fibrosis drug produces big savings for the health care system, a new report shows
- In raising the nuclear threat, Putin bets Trump is willing to back down on Ukraine, Mark MacKinnon writes
Brigadier-General Frédéric Pruneau is Task Force Commander of Operation Proteus in Jerusalem.Oren Ben Hakoon/The Globe and Mail
Middle East
Canada’s mission in the West Bank
For nearly 20 years, Canadian soldiers have been stationed in the occupied West Bank, trying to help Palestinians and Israelis reach a two-state solution – a goal that, more than 13 months into the war in Gaza, seems increasingly out of reach. The mission is called Operation Proteus, and it’s part of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC), a coalition of nine countries intending to create the security conditions for a two-state solution. With 30 personnel, Canada’s is the largest contingent.
But the context of the mission is on shaky ground. Violence in the occupied West Bank continues to escalate. The Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) are increasingly unpopular among Palestinian civilians. “Day after” plans for a ceasefire remain unclear.
Claire Porter Robbins is a freelance journalist and a former aid worker, and she recently wrote about Canada’s role in working toward a two-state solution. She also spoke on the Decibel about how the operation has changed in the last year and what it could mean for the future. Here is some of what she said on the podcast.
On what is Canada doing day to day:
“The primary objective is for the Canadian Armed Forces to provide training and mentorship to their counterparts in the Palestinian security forces. So that means training every couple of months, including on things like first aid or human resources management. But they also monitor or write reports on settler violence and contribute to security-related donations, like light armoured vehicles, or building up cellular networks in the West Bank.”
On how the mission started:
“This mission was part of the Oslo Accords, which happened in 1993 and 1995, and they sort of set the framework, or a roadmap, to a two-state solution, with Israel having territory and the Palestinians having territory. And part of that promise was that the international community would help the Palestinians develop their security forces so that they could say to Israel, ‘Look, you have a partner in peace. You have a secure border, and we’re going to help essentially make that happen, so that when a two-state solution happens, you’ll have a partner for peace on your borders.’”
On how the work of Operation Proteus has been affected after Oct. 7:
“What the Canadian Forces are doing there, that has not changed, but the context in which they are operating has hugely changed. It’s far more violent. There are far more security restrictions on our Canadian Forces and the level of trust between Israelis and Palestinians is even further decreased than where it was before – huge increase in the level of settler violence, huge increase in incursions. Palestinian security forces not getting paid, not wanting to show up to work. Those things are all putting huge strain on the mission.”
On why PASF are not getting paid regularly:
“They are supposed to be funded, just like how our security forces are funded through taxpayer dollars. How it works in the occupied territories is that Palestinian taxes are collected by the Israeli government, and then the Israeli government is supposed to distribute them back to Palestinian services. In reality, since before the war, the Israeli government has been withholding some of those tax revenues from essential services. So, when I spoke with Brigadier-General Frédéric Pruneau, the Canadian leader of this contingent, he estimates that 60 to 70 per cent of police and Palestinian security forces have not been paid regularly or on time or even at all.”
On what the sentiment is on a two-state solution today:
“Those Oslo accords were signed 30 years ago. We’re farther away, I believe, and many experts believe, from realizing the objectives of the Oslo Accords – a two-state solution – than we were when they were signed.”
“If you look at the polling numbers among young Palestinians, young Israelis, they are far less likely to believe that a two-state solution would happen in their lifetime, or even to support that objective, than their parents and their grandparents.”
On how Operation Proteus is scheduled to expire at the end of March and what is at stake:
“I think a big question for the Canadian government is to consider how much we’ve put into this mission under the guise of a two-state solution. You know, millions of dollars and contributions of troops, and to recognize how much farther away we are from that two-state solution than when we first began. And that’s a big existential question. And then second, what’s at stake if the United States Security Coordinator were not to exist, and Proteus is a big contribution to that. I think that would sort of legitimize any action by the Israeli government to take over the security of the occupied West Bank, and I think that would sort of be the last nail in the coffin of a two-state solution.”
The Shot
‘The Mercedes-Benz of precious metals’
The 1oz TD Canadian-Sourced Fine Gold Bar had the approximate market value of $3,799.28 at the time this photograph was taken on Nov. 6.Peter Andrew Lusztyk/The Globe and Mail
Toronto-Dominion Bank’s bullion trading division has quietly become one of the largest purveyors of gold and silver items in Canada’s retail market. Pull the curtain back on TD’s push into the sometimes peculiar world of precious metal collectibles (and, more importantly, see the alien coin) here.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Winds from a bomb cyclone exceeded 100 kilometres an hour along the B.C. coast and cut off roads and power on Vancouver Island.
On trial: A court was shown messages between two men, accused in the deaths of an Indian family by the Manitoba-Minnesota border, saying it was “cold as hell.”
Abroad: Media mogul Jimmy Lai testifies in Hong Kong court to defend himself and his now-shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily.
Way out there: Meet TI-DYE 1b, the newly discovered exoplanet that could help us understand how planets are made.