Ceasefire Now!  End the Occupation Now!

On December 13, 2023 the United Nations General Assembly repeated its October 27 call for an end to violence in Gaza, Palestine with a resolution demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” and underlined that “all parties” must “comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably regarding the protection of civilians.”

Canada was among 153 countries which voted in favour of this non-binding resolution.

Predictably, Israel and its main military and financial supporter, the USA, voted to continue the genocidal campaign. They were joined by a grand total of eight tiny U.S. dominated states representing less than 1% of the world’s population. Contrary to Biden’s assertion, the worlds’ peoples and most governments stand with Palestine.

Since Palestinian resistance forces broke through the Zionist military encirclement of Gaza the Israeli occupation forces have massacred more than 10,000 children and infants, over 2000 women and almost 3000 men in what many describe as the largest open air prison in the world. More than 50,000 innocent civilians have been injured. We acknowledge that the minute we quote figures of casualties in Gaza and the West Bank the numbers are outdated.

Racist Zionist forces have killed at least 60 journalists in an effort to prevent the true story of the genocide for being heard. 250 medical and 130 UN aid workers have also been deliberately murdered.

The true face of the fascist regime in Tel Aviv is clearly visible in the blockade of food, water, medicine and fuel desperately needed by the civilian population of Gaza. Starvation and disease are simply weapons to destroy not Hamas but the entire population of Gaza.

Cynically, apartheid forces have displaced 1.9 million innocent Palestinians within the Gaza Strip. While described as a way to move people away from areas to be bombed, in reality this can only be understood as a direct effort to ethnically cleanse Gaza of native Palestinian people.

The occupation forces using precision weapons are deliberately targeting hospitals, schools, churches, mosques and UN infrastructure. This is being done to make life in Gaza unliveable so as to facilitate the crime of ethnic cleansing.

All the evidence, including direct statements from Zionist government officials, demonstrates that what is happening in Palestine is not a war or a conflict but a clear genocide hoping to destroy the will of the heroic Palestinian people to form their own state.

The Canadian Peace Congress welcomes the UNGA call for a cease fire. This is an absolutely critical first step in stopping the bloodshed. It is, however, not enough. The true crime is the occupation of Palestine and this must end if any serious peace is to be achieved.

If Canada had an independent foreign policy based on solidarity, peace and disarmament it might expel the Zionist diplomats, cancel all trade agreements with and prohibit all weapon sales to Apartheid Israel. It could throw its diplomatic support behind serious efforts to create a real Palestinian state based on all relevant UN resolutions dating back to 1968.

Free free Palestine!
End the siege of Gaza now!
End the attacks on Palestinians in West Bank

Canadian Peace Congress

December 17, 2023