Ed Corrigan
Bahija, President of NCCAR
Take Action to End Israeli Attacks on Gaza
Today, the Israeli Air Force attacks on the occupied Gaza killed more than 200 people and injured hundreds more. These lethal attacks on an overcrowded Gaza come after months of a brutal siege that has seen the civilian population of Gaza deprived of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life.
Israel's bombing of Gaza today would not have happened without the complacent and complicit silence of the international community. Any just solution has to be anchored in international, humanitarian and human rights law.
Therefore, we need to take action to protest these attacks and demand that our government call for
- an immediate cease-fire,
- the lifting of the siege to allow for the delivery of aid, medicine, fuel etc...
- free access for international humanitarian organisations, journalists and diplomats, which Israel has blocked.
For background information, please read Gush Shalom's statement on today's attack, which puts blame for the end of the truce squarely on Israel: http://zope.gush-shalom.org/
TAKE ACTION
1. Contact the Prime Minister’s Office to protest the attack and demand that the Canadian government request an immediate cease-fire, lifting of the siege imposed on Gaza . Call 613-992-4211 and email pm@pm.gc.ca
2. Call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Phone: 613-944-4000 - and/or send a FAX: 613-944-4500 – and/or email to L.Cannon@international.gc.ca ; Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca , and cc to Obhrai.D@parl.gc.ca ; Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca ; Layton.J@parl.gc.ca ; Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca ; leader@greenparty.ca ; RaeB1@parl.gc.ca ; Patry.B@parl.gc.ca ; Martin.K@parl.gc.ca ; Goodale.R@parl.gc.ca ; Leblanc.D@parl.gc.ca ; Dewar.P@parl.gc.ca ; Paquette.P@parl.gc.ca ; Faille.M@parl.gc.ca .
3. Contact your Member of Parliament (MP) to let them know your concerns. To find your MP and their contact info, click HERE and enter your postal code.
4. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor.
http://w01.international.gc.
December 27, 2008 (2:30 p.m. EST)
No. 252
Statement by Minister Cannon on the Situation
in Israel and the Gaza Strip
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement regarding the situation in Israel and the Gaza Strip:
“Canada is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip and by the loss of life and the suffering sustained by all sides.
“Israel has a clear right to defend itself against the continued rocket attacks by Palestinian militant groups which have deliberately targeted civilians. First and foremost, those rocket attacks must stop. At the same time, we urge both sides to use all efforts to avoid civilian casualties and to create the conditions to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those in need in Gaza.
“In addition to calling for immediate calm, we urge renewed efforts to reach a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to remain committed to finding a comprehensive peace settlement.”
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
www.international.gc.ca/index.
The war in Gaza – vicious folly of a bankrupt government (and Amos Oz will soon regret having supported it)
The war in Gaza, the bloodshed, killing, destruction and suffering on both sides of the border, are the vicious folly of a bankrupt government. A government which let itself be dragged by adventurous officers and cheap nationalist demagoguery, dragged into a destructive and unnecessary war which will bring no solution to any problem – neither to the communities of southern Israel under the rain of missiles nor to the terrible poverty and suffering of besieged Gaza. On the day after the war the same problems will remain – with the addition of many bereaved families, wounded people crippled for life, and piles of rubble and destruction.
The escalation towards war could and should have been avoided. It was the State of Israel which broke the truce, in the 'ticking tunnel' raid on the night of the US elections two months ago. Since then the army went on stoking the fires of escalation with calculated raids and killings, whenever the shooting of missiles on Israel decreased.
The cycle of bloodshed could and should be broken. The ceasefire can be restored immediately, and on firmer foundations. It is the right of Israel to demand a complete end to shooting on its territory and citizens – but it must stop all attacks from its side, end completely the siege and starvation of Gaza's million and half inhabitants, and stop interfering with the Palestinians' right to choose their own leaders.
Ehud Barak's declaration that he is stopping the elections campaign in order to concentrate on the Gaza offensive is a joke. The war in Gaza is itself Barak's elections campaign, a cynical attempt to buy votes with the blood and suffering in Netivot and Sderot, Gaza and Beit Hanun. Also so-called peace seekers such as Amos Oz, who give this offensive their support and encouragement, could not afterwards shrug off responsibility.
Contact: Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Spokesperson, adam@gush-shalom.org
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