When Israel's prime minister meets Stephen Harper, his Canadian counterpart, in Ottawa on May 31st, he can expect a far warmer welcome... ties with Canada have flourished under Mr Harper. "It is hard to find a country friendlier to Israel than Canada these days," said Avigdor Lieberman... on a trip to Ottawa last year. "No other country in the world has demonstrated such a full understanding of us." Mr Harper wasted little time in changing Canada's traditionally even-handed stance towards the Middle East. One of his first moves as prime minister was to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas's victory in legislative elections. In July 2006, he called Israel's controversial pounding of southern Lebanon "measured". He stood by his words even after seven Canadian civilians and a Canadian UN peacekeeper were killed in the onslaught. Peter McKay, then the foreign minister, explained that "it's not a difficult choice between siding with a democracy that's being attacked by terrorists and a group of cold-blooded killers."
Thanks for the ping, Civ.
Canada ping, Clive.