Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank all of the witnesses for being here today for this very important conversation.
Professor Kersten, you spoke about how the day to do this is today. I want to reiterate that a minister could recognize the state of Palestine today. This is something that does not require a parliamentary vote.
I guess what I want to talk about for a moment is the urgency of this issue. We know that, over the past few weeks, the situation has gotten far worse. We know the work of the international community has clearly not prevented a genocide from taking place. It has not reined in Israel's extremist government.
Can you speak to the deteriorating conditions, including in the West Bank through further settlement construction, and why ending the occupation and recognizing the state of Palestine would help with this injustice?