Arab nations are seeking to diplomatically punish Canada over Ottawa’s support for Israel. The incumbent Harper government has sided with the United States and Israel on several initiatives that were opposed by all three countries, but which were driven by Arab nations. Arguably the most dramatic was the Palestinian push for non-member statehood, which was done over the strong objections of President Barack Obama.

As with so much Arab diplomacy causing American officials frustration in recent months, Qatar is at the center of the gambit:

Growing discontent among Arab nations over the Harper government’s pro-Israel stand is prompting joint talks on retaliation, with some eyeing a campaign to strip Canada of a major UN agency, the ICAO. The International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets international rules for airplane transportation, has been headquartered in Montreal since 1947, but Qatar is now bidding to relocate it to the Middle East in 2016, trying to muster votes from 115 countries to approve the move at a meeting this fall…

At an April 23 meeting in New York on Palestinian issues, Arab ambassadors to the United Nations devoted a section of their agenda to countering Canada, including mustering allies from other countries to vote against Ottawa in international organizations, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Since that meeting, Qatar has made its new bid to take ICAO’s headquarters away from Montreal, and some Arab countries are eyeing moves to back it by campaigning to win the votes of other states, sources say.

Canada has also played a critical role in mobilizing pressure on Iran and on Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah. That the U.S.’s Arab allies are seeking to isolate one of Washington’s closest diplomatic, military, and economic partners will likely trigger concern on the part of American policymakers.

[Photo: Henrickson / Wiki Commons]