The government of Canada says it is “very concerned” about the means Israel is employing to defend itself against rocket attacks originating in Gaza.

In a statement that attempted to balance critique of Hamas rocket
attacks with criticism of Israeli retaliation, Foreign Affairs Minister
Maxime Bernier, left, said, “We deplore the loss of life and the suffering on
both sides.

“Israel has a clear right to defend itself, including against terrorists plotting attacks. That said, we are very concerned by the impact on civilians of measure taken by the government of Israel, such as increased military operations, restrictions on border crossings and reductions in the delivery of vital goods and services.

“Canada calls on both sides to comply with their obligations under international law.”

Bernier’s remarks came under fire from Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker, top right, and the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC). Both accused the minister of seeking a “moral equivalence” between the two sides, even though Israel reacted only after the launch of numerous rockets into Israel. More than 2,000 homemade Qassam rockets have been aimed at the town of Sderot and other border communities since 2007. Last week, longer-range Katyushas fell in Ashkelon, a city of 120,000 that is home to an electricity-generating power plant.

Israel retaliated with a military incursion into Gaza, from which Israel withdrew in September 2005.

An Israeli man was killed in Sderot, and two soldiers died during Israel Defence Forces (IDF) operations last weekend. More than 100 Palestinians died, including numerous civilians. Israel withdrew its land forces after a few days, prior to a previously scheduled visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee, a pro-Israel advocacy group, said he was “troubled” by Bernier’s comments. “There is no equivalent between what Israel is doing” and seven years of rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel, he said. “The government is not paying enough attention to the nuances and the details. The department is more comfortable in what it sees as a balanced [approach]. That does not reflect reality.”

Baker said he was “disappointed” by Bernier’s remarks. “I think any statement equating Israel’s actions in self-defence with acts of pure terrorism directed wilfully against civilians in towns and villages is misguided and wrong.”

Israel’s operations in Gaza prompted condemnation from the European Union, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accused Israel of employing “excessive” force. In Washington, White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe said, “The violence needs to stop and the talks [between Israel and the Palestinian Authority] need to resume.”

The fighting brought new challenges to Israel’s strategy of containing violence from the Gaza Strip, and derailed peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The latest surge in fighting began late last week when Hamas rocket crews fired dozens of rockets at Israel after the Israeli Air Force bombed a van carrying five Hamas militiamen who had recently returned to Gaza after undergoing specialized military training in Iran.

The Hamas rocket attacks claimed their first fatality in nine months: a 47-year-old father of four who was undergoing job training at Sderot’s Sapir College after recovering from a kidney transplant. Hamas also fired several Katyusha rockets into Ashkelon. The fatality in Sderot and the Katyusha attacks on Ashkelon prompted Israeli politicians to call for a massive military operation in Gaza to counter what they described as Hamas’ escalation of the conflict.

Israel stepped up its attacks in Gaza, increasing its air strikes, flattening the Hamas-run Interior Ministry and sending Israeli ground troops into areas of eastern Gaza City.

Israeli officials described the crackdown as a “war,” but said a full-scale invasion of Gaza was still a way off. The objective, it seemed, was to kill or capture as many Hamas rocket crewmen as possible and perhaps target the Islamist group’s leadership as well.

“The ultimate objective is to bring an end to the firing of Qassams,” Defence Minister Ehud Barak said.

Though Israel said most of the Palestinian casualties were combatants, the dead included many children and other civilians, and television images of the violence drew censure in the Arab world and beyond.

Bernier said that “Canada is deeply concerned about the current escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and Israel. It is clear that Hamas and other groups responsible for the growing number of rockets fired on Israel are determined to target civilians and create even more instability and misery These actions are deplorable. Canada calls on those groups to stop immediately for the sake of those suffering both in the Gaza Strip and in Israel.”

Fogel said the government was correct in condemning Hamas rocket attacks but, quoting Winston Churchill, he said it erred in finding equivalence “between the arsonist and the firefighter.”

“We were pleased the government recognized Hamas as the source of violence. We were concerned the statement… [drew] moral equivalence between Israel and the Palestinians, which we don’t believe reflects the government’s position. We’ve asked for a clarification,” he said.

Baker deplored the “double standard” in the international community and the international media. They ignore the “40 to 60 rockets that fall indiscriminately on Israeli towns and villages daily. That does not seem to bother the international community and media very much. But as soon as Israel responds, it’s acting unduly harshly.”

Naresh Raghubeer, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Democracies, a pro-democracy advocacy group, called Bernier’s statement “unfortunate” and “naive.”

“I find it sad and dismaying that the minister chooses to lecture Israel as it seeks to fulfil its sovereign right to protect its citizens. One would have hoped that the minister would have been clear and stood by Israel unequivocally,” he said.

For its part, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank announced it was scrapping a routine peace negotiators meeting scheduled for Monday.

Though Mahmoud Abbas’ administration stopped short of declaring the peace process dead, the Palestinian Authority president irked Israelis by saying what was happening in Gaza was a “worse holocaust” than what befell the Jews in World War II.

Some Israelis have suggested that toppling Gaza’s Hamas regime might be a perfect opportunity to hand the territory back to Abbas, whose Fatah forces were routed from Gaza last June by Hamas militants who wrested control of the strip.

Some Israeli analysts cited this theory in explaining Abbas’ sudden bouts of anti-Israel rhetoric.

“[Abbas] cannot afford for Palestinians to think he is riding back into Gaza on the backs of Israeli tanks,” Tzvi Yehezkeli of Israel’s Channel 10 news said.

With files from JTA and Ha’aretz.