Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September during a meeting of the United Nations, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday.

“We are working ourselves, with others, to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, to not allow the facts on the ground, deaths on the ground, the settlements on the ground, the expropriations on the ground, to get to such an extent that this is not possible,” Carney said.

Carney said the move was subject to the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to reforms, including commitments to reform its governance and to hold general elections next year in which Hamas “can play no part.”

Israel criticized Carney’s position, calling it a “reward for Hamas” that hurts efforts to reach a ceasefire and free the remaining hostages still held by the terror group after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack against the Jewish State.

Israel criticized Canada’s position, calling it a “reward for Hamas” that hurts efforts to reach a ceasefire and free the remaining hostages. (Reuters)

The Palestinian government has been a non-member observer state of the U.N. General Assembly since 2012, recognized by more than three-quarters of the assembly’s 193 member states.

The war in Gaza began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were abducted, Israeli officials reported.

Israel responded with an ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 60,000 people, according to the Hamas-run government’s Gaza health ministry.

Reuters contributed to this report.