There is a state of uncertainty surrounding the future of the Quebec provincial representative office in Tel Aviv, the economic capital of the State of Israel.

The new diplomatic representation that the Quebec government announced on August 3 that it would open this fall will not see the light of day "in the short or medium term" due to the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, according to the Minister of International Relations and Francophonie in the Quebec government, Martine Biron.

"We will reassess the situation," Biron said about the opening of the representative office on the sidelines of another announcement this morning.

Biron emphasized the necessity for Quebec to have a diplomatic office in the Middle East.

But could it be somewhere other than Tel Aviv?

"I think we need an office in the Middle East. Our choice fell on Tel Aviv because we have interesting links with the Jewish community (in Quebec), but we also have links with Palestine," Biron responded to the question posed to her.

Does this mean the office could move to another place in the region? "No, I did not say that," Biron replied, leaving some ambiguity in her answer.

"I think it was central and appropriate," Biron added about the diplomatic office she announced last summer she would inaugurate, which would have been Quebec's first in the Middle East region, "Well, will the situation be the same when the war ends? We will see."

The minister Biron had announced on October 10, three days after the start of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel, the postponement of a planned mission that included the opening of the Quebec representative office in Tel Aviv, which was chosen to be in the Canadian embassy building in the city.

"It is currently on hold, I do not think the time is very suitable to open an office in Tel Aviv," Biron added, "We will wait for the return of peace. We will monitor the situation and then see what we will do."

Biron also confirmed that the Palestinian General Commission in Ottawa had previously expressed reservations to the Quebec government regarding Quebec opening a diplomatic office for itself in Israel.

"Our position on this matter has always been balanced," confirmed the Minister of International Relations in the government of François Legault.

"We deal with various educational institutions in Palestine, so our position every time has been that we will maintain the same balance," said the Quebec minister, indicating that she was to visit Palestine during the canceled fall mission.

Quebec has 34 representative offices, not counting the Tel Aviv office, in about 20 countries around the world, focusing in particular on promoting the cultural and commercial interests of the province.

Quebec, the only Canadian province with a French-speaking majority, is the second of the ten provinces in terms of population (with about 8.88 million inhabitants) and economic size.