On November 15, 2019 the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC) issued the following statement regarding the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza:
Canada must condemn ALL violence between Israelis and Palestinians
Canada’s Palestinian community is deeply troubled by Canada’s continued disregard for Palestinian civilian deaths and asks the government to condemn ALL violence — whether Israeli or Palestinian — around Gaza. On Nov. 13, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland made a tweet which condemned recent Palestinian violence, but ignored Israel’s much more lethal violence, saying, “Canada strongly condemns the unacceptable firing of rockets at civilians in #Israel. Immediate de-escalation is necessary. We fully support the efforts of Egypt and the UN in this regard.”
Canadian Palestinians understand and appreciate the intent behind the Canadian government’s statement in “support of the efforts of Egypt and the UN” aiming to de-escalate the hostility in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, the Palestinian Canadian Community decries the government’s failure to condemn Israel’s reckless violence, considering it one-sided and biased. This disappointing statement condemns the Palestinian rockets, which have resulted in ZERO Israeli fatalities, but ignores Israel’s strikes, which have killed AT LEAST 34 Palestinians. Such a statement blindly and knowingly ignores the facts of the conflict.
More than 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza live under Israeli siege and suffer repeated waves of violence, human rights violations and war crimes committed by Israel. In addition to the 34 Palestinian dead, including the Sawarkeh family of 6 (including 3 children), Israel’s indiscriminate bombardments in Gaza in the last few days have also resulted in more than 100 Palestinian injured.
The Palestinian Canadian community calls upon Prime Minister Trudeau to follow through with his 2018 call to investigate Israeli violations of international law against Palestinian civilians. Moving forward, the Palestinian Canadian community calls on the government of Canada to establish a balanced policy on Israel-Palestine that respects and values ALL human life, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
PALESTINIAN LIVES MATTER
Respectful,
On Behalf of the Coalition,
Mr. Mousa Zaidan, President
(The Association Of Palestinian Arab Canadians — Capital Region)
Mr. Jamal Khalid, President (Association of Palestinian Arabs)
Mrs. Nora Al-Taji, President (Canadian Palestinian Foundation of Quebec)
Mr. Ramsey Zeid, President (Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba)
Mr. Wael Ghuneim, President (Palestinian Association of Hamilton)
Mr. Mazen Shahattou, President (Canadian Arab Society of London)
Or. Yousef Barakat, president (Canadian Arab Forum of BC)
Mr. Muhanad Kilani, President (The Canadian Palestinian Social Society of London)
Mr. Ahmad Qais, President (Palestinian Canadian Community Center- Palestine house)
Mr. Amin Maued, President (Palestine House — Toronto)
Mr. Omar AlQatami, President (Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society)
Mr. Ali Mustafa, President (Canada Palestine Cultural Association)
Mr. Rashad Saleh, President (The Canadian Palestinian Council)
With support of
Mr. Thomes Woodley, President ( Candia for Justice & Peace in the Middle east)
Dr. Nour El-Kadri, President (Canadian Arab Federation)
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center published its findings about the Palestinian casualties: 13 were military operatives of the Islamic Jihad, 1 Hamas military operative, 1 affiliated with Hamas, 3 military operatives of Al-Aqsa Brigades/ Nidal al-Amudi, 2 military operatives of the Popular Resistance Committees, 9 civilians (7 were killed in a house the mistakenly identified as a military target) and regarding 3 it was not determined whether they were military operatives or civilians.
