Palestinians Throw Eggs at Canadian FM

Palestinian protesters heckled and threw eggs and shoes at Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird during a visit to Ramallah on Sunday, denouncing Ottawa’s diplomatic support for Israel.

Baird was not hit, but one of the eggs smacked onto the roof of his car after a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart at the Foreign Ministry in Ramallah.

Several dozen Palestinian special forces armed with machine guns and riot gear made no effort to confront the egg-throwers among a crowd of about 100 protesters.

“You’re not welcome,” the demonstrators shouted at Baird.

Canada was among a handful of countries that voted against the Palestinians’ successful bid to become a non-member state at the U.N. General Assembly in 2012. This month, Baird called a Palestinian move to join the International Criminal Court “concerning and dangerous.”

In a statement on Sunday, Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat demanded an apology from Baird for visiting Israeli officials in eastern Yerushalayim last year.

Baird is in the region for five days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

In a statement, Baird described his meeting with Malki as “cordial and constructive” and included “candid and frank exchanges on areas where we differ in opinion.”

This article appeared in print on page 7 of the January 19th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.