David F. Shultz

Mark Carney is doubling down on a colonial force in the West Bank with barely a peep from pro-Palestinian forces. In fact, some are supporting a security initiative that highlights the scope of Canadian Zionism and liberal/left naivety towards “aid”. At the UN last week, the prime minister announced new funds to bolster a security force assisting Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank. As part of a hundred-million-dollar announcement, Canada added $20 million in “aid” for Palestinian security initiatives with Carney noting in an official release, “we will continue to lead in training the Palestinian Authority’s security forces through Operation PROTEUS, and we stand ready to extend that support to Gaza when conditions permit.” The NDP and most major Palestine solidarity groups seem to have ignored a rare government mention of the two-decade old Operation PROTEUS despite Carney tying it to potentially enforcing Israeli/US rule over Gaza. “Pro-Palestinian” Liberal MP Salma Zahid went a step further explicitly endorsing the move. Zahid posted, “I welcome this increased support from Canada, including the RCMP training Palestinian police officers in the West Bank. We need to do all we can to improve safety and security in the region.” But this “aid” has nothing to do with Palestinian safety and security. In fact, over the past two decades, Canada has spent several hundred million dollars supporting a US effort to build a Palestinian Authority Security Force to assist Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank. The PA forces, which are vetted by Israel’s internal Shin-Bet intelligence agency, act as the “subcontractor of the Occupation”. They have repeatedly disrupted demonstrations against Israel’s brutality in Gaza and turned their guns on Palestinians resisting occupation in Jenin and elsewhere. As Tamara Nassar explained: “PA forces are Israel’s foot soldiers. The body’s raison d’être is to suppress Palestinian opposition and resistance to help Israel maintain its occupation in the West Bank while promoting the illusion of Palestinian autonomy and representation. In the areas where the PA has nominal control, Palestinian forces are only allowed to arrest other Palestinians. They cannot touch Israeli soldiers or settlers who attack Palestinians.” Around two dozen Canadian troops and a dozen RCMP officers are part of Operation Proteus, which trains PA security forces as part of a mission led by the Office of the United States Security Coordinator. Initially in charge of organizing the PA force, US General Keith Dayton told the Associated Press in 2009, “We don’t provide anything to the Palestinians unless it has been thoroughly coordinated with the State of Israel and they agree to it.” Like all colonial authorities throughout history, Israel looks to compliant locals to take up the occupation’s security burden. What is unique about the training and support for the PA security forces is the role of third-party trainers from Canada, Britian and the US. Canada’s role in training, equipping and assisting the PA force began in earnest after Hamas won legislative elections in 2006. To sow division within Palestinian society, Ottawa cut off aid and refused to recognize a Palestinian unity government. When Hamas officials were ousted from the Palestinian unity government in June 2007, Ottawa devoted significant resources to creating a Palestinian security force “to ensure that the PA maintains control of the West Bank against Hamas,” as then Canadian Ambassador to Israel Jon Allen was quoted as saying by the Canadian Jewish News. In 2010 deputy foreign minister Peter Kent said Operation Proteus received “most of the money” from a five-year $300 million Canadian “aid” program to the PA. Today, Operation Proteus receives $20 million per year directly and more funding indirectly. A heavily censored 2012 note that Postmedia unearthed through an Access to Information Request confirmed the goal of Canadian security aid to the PA was to protect a corrupt Mahmoud Abbas, whose electoral mandate expired in 2009, from popular backlash. Canadian International Development Agency president Margaret Biggs explained, “The emergence of popular protests on the Palestinian street against the Palestinian Authority is worrying and the Israelis have been imploring the international donor community to continue to support the Palestinian Authority.” Biggs further explained, “The Israelis have noted the importance of Canada’s contribution to the relative stability achieved through extensive security co-operation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.” The head of the aid agency said a sizable chunk of Canada’s “aid” to the Palestinians helped suppress protests at the behest of the colonial ruler. In last week’s announcement Carney expressed a desire to extend Canada’s role in PA security assistance to Gaza. Last November, reported The Maple, Canadian soldiers and RCMP part of Operation PROTEUS attended an Israeli military seminar showcasing its genocidal methods in Gaza. Alongside learning from the génocidaires, Canadian soldiers were part of what the New York Times labelled “The American-Run Base Planning Gaza’s Future”. Now, the US is seeking to build a base in Gaza to serve as headquarters for up to 5,000 personnel, part of the Donald Trump led Board of Peace’s planned International Stabilization Force. Carney is preparing to assist these efforts through Operation Proteus. Opponents of genocide and apartheid should oppose these moves and demand the end of Operation Proteus. From Haiti to the Philippines, Canadian “aid” has often been used to subjugate the already disenfranchised. Leftists should be far more skeptical of Canadian “aid”. The assistance Carney announced last week is part of what he described as a “Zionist Palestinian state”. It’s an odious conception.