Global · 2nd January 2009
Comox Valley Peace Group
Stop the Israeli assault on Gaza! Ceasefire Now!
Join the Comox Valley Peace Group in a demonstration on Saturday January 3 at the Peace Park across from Thrifty Foods in Courtenay to condemn the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza and the unconscionable response of the Canadian government.
Since December 27 the Israeli armed forces have launched air attacks on the civilian population of Gaza, in defiance of international law and humanitarian conventions including the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians. The current Israeli attack is the most vicious campaign to date to crush the resistance of the Palestinians to the unjust and illegal Israeli occupation.
The response of the Canadian government, expressed by Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, is to blame the Palestinians for the Israeli bombardment. In spite of the fact that Israel was the first to break the ceasefire with Hamas, Cannon asserts that Israel is defending itself and its only onus is to try to avoid killing civilians.
What is at stake in Gaza is the right of the Palestinian nation to exist.
We demand an end to the Israeli attack, an end to the illegal and unjust occupation of Gaza. We demand that the Canadian government uphold international law and act as a factor for peace by condemning the Israeli aggression.
Hamas Has to go
Comment by Grant Shilling on 2nd January 2009
"Canadians who support peace and human rights for all people must demand that Hamas give up its violence or give way to Palestinian leaders who truly want a state more than they want Jewish blood. Palestinians need an intifada against the tyranny of Hamas. When this happens, a Palestinian state at peace with Israel will be possible. That is a goal all Canadians should be in solidarity with."