"The scenes of death and destruction from Jerusalem today evoke in Canadians our strongest feelings of anger and condemnation toward the cowardly perpetrators and deepest sympathy for the innocent victims. It is truly shocking to contemplate the mentality of those who recognize no moral or civilized limit to what they will do to destroy the hope for a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.

But we must not allow the enemies of peace to succeed. At this tragic and difficult time, Canada calls on all sides to show restraint. The cycle of violence and retribution of the past 10 months has proven that security measures are not sufficient to deal with the current situation. The best means of defeating the enemies of peace is through a measured political response designed to encourage the resolution of differences through dialogue and diplomacy.

We call upon Chairman Arafat to denounce the violence publicly, and to work to create the conditions necessary for the resumption of peace negotiations. And we urge all sides to move forward in the wake of this tragedy towards a just and durable peace.

Aline joins me in expressing our sincerest condolences to the people of Israel and our most heartfelt condolences to the families who have today had loved ones taken from them so savagely."