VOW condemns the Government of Canada’s refusal to expressly denounce the State of Israel’s violence against Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau issued on May 12 and his social media posts on May 15, failed to acknowledge the violent and illegal actions committed by the Israeli police, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli settlers against the Palestinian people.
VOW calls on the federal government to end all permits for arms exports to Israel, end government contracts and subsidies with Israeli businesses and to prevent Canadians from serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. VOW also calls on the Canadian government to dramatically increase aid to Palestinian organizations in Gaza and to the West Bank and to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Finally, VOW calls for support for women-led peace efforts consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 1325, for example through Women Wage Peace, to end the violence and for a just peace in the Middle East.
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) condemns the grave human rights violations committed by Israel against Palestinians. Systemic human rights violations and racism have been the reality that Palestinians in the occupied territories face in their daily lives. However, the recent forced expulsions of Palestinians in Jerusalem escalated the situation that led to protests and rallies.
Over the past weekend, Palestinians in Jerusalem protested the Israeli court’s decision to forcibly expel Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem. Using extreme force, Israeli forces dispersed protestors. Israeli violations included raiding Al-Aqsa Mosque where Palestinian worshippers were attacked. Footage, circulated by Palestinian grassroots activists on social media, showed men, women and children trapped in the mosques while Israeli forces attacked.
Over the past two days, approximately 300 Palestinians were injured in Jerusalem. Amongst the victims are children. According to UNICEF, at least 37 Palestinian children were injured and arrested in East Jerusalem including in the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. UNICEF received reports that ambulances were restricted from arriving on location to assist and evacuate the injured and that an on-site clinic was reportedly hit and searched. “A one-year-old toddler was among those injured. Some children were taken for treatment at hospitals with injuries in the head and the spine,” UNICEF said in a statement.
Sheikh Jarrah
Palestinian families residing in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah are at imminent risk of forced expulsions due to legal action by the Nahalat Shimon right-wing settler organization. On May 7, the UN issued a report calling on Israel to immediately stop all forced evictions including those in East Jerusalem confirming that these actions are “prohibited under international law.” In a statement, UN’s Human Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville said:
“Given the disturbing scenes in Sheikh Jarrah over the past few days, we wish to emphasize that East Jerusalem remains part of the occupied Palestinian territory, in which International Humanitarian Law applies. The occupying Power must respect and cannot confiscate private property in occupied territory.”
Many Palestinian groups and grassroots activists describe the forced evictions as “ethnic cleansing” aiming to remove all Palestinians from Jerusalem.
Human Rights Watch Report
On April 27 Human Rights Watch published a 213-page report entitled A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Separation.
“Human Rights Watch found that the Israeli government has pursued an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians throughout the territory it controls. In the OPT, including East Jerusalem, that intent has been coupled with systematic oppression of Palestinians and inhumane acts committed against them. When these three elements occur together, they amount to the crime of apartheid.
Israeli authorities are also committing the crime against humanity of persecution based on the discriminatory intent behind Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the grave abuses it has carried out in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
To view the full report, click here. https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-
crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution
Take Action
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) condemns the ongoing attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem as well as the systemic discrimination and human rights violations committed by Israeli authorities. VOW demands that the Israeli government immediately stop all forced expulsions of Palestinians.
VOW urges the Canadian government to take action and to condemn human rights violations committed by Israel and we call on the Israeli authorities to stop all forced expulsions of Palestinians from their homes. VOW also calls on the Canadian government to implement the Human Rights Watch recommendations outlined in its recent report.
Lyn Adamson and Hannah Hadikin
Co-Chairs, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace