A ceasefire is necessary in the Middle East, but it must come with certain conditions or violence will continue, said Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

"There has to be a ceasefire," said MacKay. "Certain conditions must be achieved to reach that stable, durable cessation of violence in the region."

MacKay, who is appearing before the Commons foreign affairs committee in Ottawa, called for both sides to end attacks.

"This has to be a lasting peace. It cannot be simply a temporary solution to allow for the rearmament of a terrorist body, and simply begin the violence again."

He also urged Israel to show restraint in its attacks on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, and called on Iran and Syria to end their support for Hezbollah.

MacKay's appearance before the committee is the first time the opposition has had to question him on the Mideast crisis since Prime Minister Stephen Harper came out in support of Israel's campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas.

NDP MP and foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough asked MacKay why he has not called for an immediate ceasefire. She also accused the Harper government of siding with the Bush administration and Israel.

MacKay called Hezbollah a "cancer" eating away at Lebanon, and denied that Canada had become isolated from the rest of the world for its stance.

"I don't think that Canada's position is isolated in any way and I don't think that we have done anything other than participate productively, actively in looking for solution that will lead to a ceasefire.''

The United States has refused to call for an immediate ceasefire, saying a wider agreement must accompany any truce agreement.

While MacKay was speaking in Ottawa, European Union foreign ministers called on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to an "immediate cessation of hostilities to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire."

Many in the international community are also calling for the deployment of an international stabilization force to Lebanon. The UN was to have a meeting on such a force on Monday, but it was delayed indefinitely.

MacKay said Canada supports the establishment of the force, but it is unclear if Ottawa will commit any troops to such a force. He said Canada is already "heavily committed in Afghanistan" and is also engaged in missions in Haiti and Africa.

"There has been no request for Canada to participate militarily in this international force that is quantifiable.

"There has be no mandate set for the international force. There has been no decision taken as to what other countries will participate," he said.

"Those are all questions that require answers before we could even contemplate what role we might play."

MacKay defends evacuation

The evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon was also a key talking point Tuesday. Ottawa evacuated an estimated 13,000 nationals, but has been criticized for not moving faster to get Canadians out of Lebanon.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague, opposition critic for consumer affairs and consular services, asked why it took a week for the evacuation to begin.

"Where were you for the first four days of this crisis?" asked McTeague. "Why did you simply show up for work on a Sunday when this crisis began on a Thursday?"

McTeague also said he was the one who appeared on television to give Canadians the 1-800 number for Foreign Affairs.

"Well, I was on the job Mr. McTeague. While you were on television, I was meeting with officials, speaking with officials, participating in the planning of an evacuation," said MacKay.

MacKay said he is very proud of the work undertaken by government officials to ensure the safety of Canadians in Lebanon.

"We continue to date to do everything we can to assure the safety and security of Canadian citizens, and to contribute in a positive way to the crisis in the Middle East," he said.

Harper has also been criticized over his decision to defend Israel's air strikes as "measured."

Lebanese silenced

Twelve members of Canadian Hassan el-Akhras' family -- eight of them Canadian -- died in an Israeli attack last month but he was unable to address the committee.

"I came by myself. We didn't get invited," 31-year-old el-Akhras said of his effort to speak at the committee. He was prevented from speaking and was led away from the table.

The Conservatives chose who could address the MPs about the evacuation, sources told The Canadian Press.

Mazen Chouaib, executive director of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, described the meeting as "a charade."

Chouaib alleged that he and other Arabs were excluded to allow more Conservative-friendly voices to address the forum.

"To me this is dirty politics. It's something that troubles me a great deal in a Canadian democracy that we have... such tricks being played just to show that the prime minister has support."

An aide working for NDP foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough said the witnesses were quickly chosen without consultation of a wider committee, CP reported.

"At the direction of the (Tory) chairman, the clerk confirmed this narrow, select group of witnesses and proceeded to inform every other applicant that there was no more room," said Anthony Salloum. "This is not acceptable."

Tory support of Israel

A new poll suggests that many Canadians do not support Harper's decision to side with Israel. In the survey conducted by The Strategic Counsel for CTV and The Globe and Mail, 45 per cent said they disagreed with Harper's open support for Israel.

As many as 750 people have died in Lebanon and about 800,000 have been forced to flee their homes because of the current conflict, which began on July 12 after Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others.

McDonough said Harper should be demanding a full inquiry into the deaths of 11 Canadian civilians and a UN observer killed when an Israeli bomb hit an observer post.

MacKay said he received assurances from Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, that an investigation would be carried out.

With files from The Canadian Press