Photo: Adil Boukind Le Devoir The Quebec Urgence Palestine coalition, which brings together more than forty organizations, called for citizen mobilization on the eve of a rally in support of the Palestinian people which will take place in Montreal on Saturday.
Jeanne Corriveau
Published yesterday at 5:25 p.m. Updated yesterday at 8:28 p.m.
- Canada
Canada should impose sanctions against Israel, believes the Quebec coalition Urgence Palestine, which brings together more than forty organizations. On the eve of a rally in support of the Palestinian people which will take place in Montreal on Saturday, the group's representatives are calling for citizen mobilization despite the fatigue felt about this ongoing conflict.
< p>In support of its message, the coalition invited the special rapporteur of the United Nations (UN), Francesca Albanese, to participate in a press conference in Montreal on Friday. In her report Anatomy of a Genocide, published last March, Ms. Albanese stated that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel has committed multiple “acts of genocide.” She then spoke of “ethnic cleansing”. Accusations rejected by Israel.
By videoconference from Tunisia, Francesca Albanese reported that she was recently denied access to the Gaza Strip. However, she indicated that the testimonies of Gazans and doctors in Egypt lead her to say that the situation has seriously deteriorated in recent months. “The situation in Gaza is worse than I personally assessed in my report,” she said. Most of the victims I met in Egypt suffered catastrophic injuries and had family members killed. […] Patients who previously arrived in Egypt with primarily war-related injuries are now joined by people with chronic illnesses and/or malnutrition — especially children — resulting from the intentional humanitarian catastrophe wrought in Gaza. »
Since the bloody attack perpetrated on October 7, 2023 by Hamas commandos against Israel, killing nearly 1,170 people, the Israeli army has been carrying out a major offensive which resulted in the deaths of more than 35,000 people in Gaza and the West Bank, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health. The terrorist group still holds around a hundred hostages, according to Tel Aviv.
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“Putting pressure”
Accusing Israel of engaging in “illegal attacks” in Gaza, Amnesty International Canada calls on states, including Canada, “to stop supplying weapons to Israel, at the risk of being complicit in war crimes and other violations of international law,” said its director general, France-Isabelle Langlois. “All states must pressure Israel to end its operations in Rafah and ensure free access to humanitarian assistance in line with their obligation to prevent genocide. »
The Canadian government, however, says it has not approved any military license to export goods to Israel since January 8.
Canada is failing in all its obligations under international law, believes Diane Lamoureux, professor in the Department of Political Science at Laval University and member of the board of directors of the League of Rights and Freedoms. “Canada is a signatory to the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” she recalled, criticizing the Trudeau government for its hesitation to come out in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza. “We are ashamed of the attitude of the Canadian government,” she said. Canada must immediately take sanctions against Israel, just as it took sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. »
Citizens must continue to put pressure on the Canadian government, says France-Isabelle Langlois. ” There is no a miraculous recipe. We must continue the mobilization, she argued. Often in this type of situation, we end up seeing media and mobilization fatigue over time; we mobilize less, we talk less about it. »