Canada Must Act to Stop the Genocide of the Palestinian People

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 19, 2024 /CNW/ - On December 5, 2024, Amnesty International released a report concluding that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. The report, titled "You Feel Like You Are Subhuman: Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza", documents the ongoing destruction in Gaza and outlines violations of international law committed with impunity since October 2023.

United for Peace Canadian Interfaith Coalition (CNW Group/United for Peace Canadian Interfaith Coalition)

According to Amnesty International's Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, "Amnesty International's report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza... These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction." Callamard further stated, "Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now."

Canada's Role and Responsibility

Despite the evidence and mounting global calls for action, Canada has yet to take meaningful steps to stop the genocide unfolding in Gaza over the past year. As a member of the international community and a signatory to the Genocide Convention, Canada has a legal and moral obligation to prevent and respond to acts of genocide.

Humanitarian Atrocities in Gaza

• Over 45,000 Palestinians, 70% of whom are women and children, have been killed in Gaza. Reports estimate the true death toll may exceed 186,000.
• More children have been killed in Gaza in recent months than in all global conflicts combined over the past four years.
• Over 1.9 million people in Gaza are being starved, a clear violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.
• More than 75,000 tons of bombs—five times the amount dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined—have devastated Gaza, leveling hospitals, schools, places of worship, and other civilian infrastructure.

Calls to Action

The Canadian Interfaith Coalition demands that Canada:

1. Take immediate steps to stop the genocide in Gaza, including a ceasefire and the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid.
2. Support international justice and peace efforts, ensuring accountability for crimes against humanity.
3. Divest from companies and institutions complicit in perpetuating genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation.
4. Ensure that Canada is not complicit through inaction or silence in the ongoing systematic annihilation of the Palestinian people.

"We have a moral duty to protect the lives and dignity of children, women, and civilians. The atrocities unfolding in Gaza are unprecedented in their cruelty and scale. Canada must act now to uphold its humanitarian obligations and ensure every child has the right to life, food, water, and medical care," said Hugh Doherty, Board Member of United for Peace.

The coalition also calls for the immediate release of all hostages, including Israeli hostages and the 3,340 Palestinians held in Israeli jails under administrative detention, as reported by B'Tselem.

Signatories
This call to action is supported by members of the Canadian Interfaith Coalition and United for Peace, including:

• Hugh Doherty, Board Member of United for Peace
• Roman Catholicism Priest Fr. Keith Wallace, Board Member of United for Peace
• Rev. Diane Blanchard, United Church of Canada and representative of
• United Network for Peace and Justice in Palestine and Israel
• Professor Aliya Khan, Board Member of United for Peace
• Brianna Olson Pitawanakwat Anishinaabe Indigenous Cultural Practitioner ,
• Board Member of United for Peace
• Mary Mouammar, Board Member of United for Peace
• Amal Qutub , Board Member of United for Peace
• Imam Hamid Slimi, Board Member of United for Peace
• Rabbi David Mivasair, Board Member of United for Peace and Member of Independent Jewish Voices

Sources

A detailed list of references and sources supporting these claims is attached for verification.

1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/un-special-rapporteur-report-on-gaza-provides-crucial-evidence-that-must-spur-international-action-to-prevent-genocide/
2. https://aje.io/lanyvb
3. Khatib Lancet July 2024
4. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/09/gaza-israels-imposed-starvation-deadly-children
5. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/15/our-neighbours-burned-alive-the-bombing-of-al-aqsa-martyrs-hospital
6. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/nearly-1000-palestinian-health-workers-killed-israeli-forces-gaza-named
7. https://abcnews.go.com/International/hospitals-health-care-workers-attack-lebanon/story?id=114856783
8. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-inquiry-accuses-israel-crime-extermination-destruction-gaza-health-system-2024-10-10/
9. https://www.icjpalestine.com/2024/10/18/six-medical-aid-organisations-banned-from-gaza/
10. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-deputy-executive-director-humanitarian-action-and-supply-operations
11. https://abcnews.go.com/International/patients-trapped-northern-gaza-hospitals-idf-operations-continue/story?id=114986778
12. https://x.com/elivalley/status/1718710810069860507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1718710810069860507%7Ctwgr%5E57a7803d8752a827254c28d7d47dda2fa817ac43%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fnetanyahu-genocide
13. Amnesty International Concludes that Israel is committing genocide December 5, 2024

SOURCE United for Peace Canadian Interfaith Coalition