Letter to Minister Joly
Regarding Canada's Position on Israel’s War on Gaza
The Honourable Mélanie Joly
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Global Affairs Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa ON K1A 0G2
Send by email: [email protected]
October 14, 2023
Dear Minister Joly,
I write to you regarding three urgent matters related to the human rights of Palestinians in Gaza currently under siege. I hope that this letter will result in the serious and thorough consideration that this issue deserves and a detailed reply that conveys your government’s position on these three urgent matters.
First, I implore your government to respond with concrete action to call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to indiscriminate harming of civilians and infrastructure in Gaza. We condemn all acts of violence against innocent Palestinian and Israeli men, women and children and call for Hamas to release the hostages. Gaza is a population of 2.2 million people with 50% of whom are children and under the age of 18 trapped as Israel has repeatedly bombed the Rafah border. Israel issued an evacuation order for 1.1 million Palestinians to which the UN replied, “the order is impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences”. Reports have surfaced of Israel killing convoys of innocent Palestinians as they evacuate (New York Times). So far, the Palestinian death toll as of October 14 at 11:53 AM is 2215 people of which 724 are children and 351 are women (and counting). An additional 8714 people have been injured, including 2450 children and 1185 women (CNN). Human Rights Watch confirmed Israel’s use of white phosphorus gas in Gaza and Lebanon which is a war crime under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (Human Rights Watch). Israel has indiscriminately killed Palestinian civilians, bombed homes, medical facilities, schools, UN premises, ambulance crews and aid workers. This contravenes the third and fourth Geneva conventions on willful killings, torture, inhumane treatment, and prohibition on the destruction of private or state property. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.” Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich said “there is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language.” We ask that your government take a stance on protecting the human rights of Palestinian and Israeli civilians and demanding that Israel must cease all air and ground assaults on the Palestinian people.
Second, we ask that your government call on Israel to end the siege on Gaza and the war declared by Israel on October 9, 2023. The Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, declared on Monday that Palestinians were ‘human animals’ and declared a complete siege on Gaza where “there will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything will be closed.” This collective punishment of innocent Palestinian civilians contravenes international humanitarian law (GCI Art. 15, GCIV Art. 16, GCIV Art. 17, GCII Art. 18, APII Art. 14, APII Art. 18.2). According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the siege will exacerbate an already desperate humanitarian crisis” by trapping and depriving more than 2.2 million people of goods essential for survival amid massive bombing campaign by Israel. “The collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population amounts to a war crime – it is cruel and inhumane. As the occupying power, Israel has a clear obligation under international law to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s civilian population are met,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard. Without electricity, hospitals will soon become morgues. Cutting of water has dire consequences for more than 650, 000 Palestinians (UN). As a country that stands for human rights, we must call on Israel to end its siege on Gaza and restore basic services needed for their survival including food, medical aid, electricity, water, and fuel.
Third, we ask that your government negotiate the re-entry of humanitarian aid be allowed to reach the civilian population in Gaza with guarantees that medical facilities and places of refuge be treated as safe zones, and for Israel to allow UN protection for the people of Gaza. The UN, Amnesty International and other humanitarian aid organizations have warned of a looming crisis with no safe place for Palestinians to take refuge. Humanitarian aid including critical supplies must be allowed into Gaza. The number of people who have fled their home in Gaza is 450,000 people and counting. Hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with a constant stream of injured civilians, running out of supplies and have only days’ worth of fuel before their power cuts off.
Minister, it will come as no surprise that we are frustrated and dismayed by your government’s lack of action when it comes to the human rights of Palestinians. We all wish to see Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and security - but that dream has never been more under threat than right now. Canada, as a signatory of the Geneva Convention, has a legal responsibility under the UN Charter and a moral responsibility as a member of the international community to stand up for those whose rights are repeatedly violated. It is only through principled action that peace can be achieved and healing for both communities can begin.
This is the time for Canada to act decisively and honestly.
Sincerely,
Concerned Citizens of Canada
Attn:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister and Leader of The Liberal Party, [email protected]
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, MP York South-Weston, Minister of International Development, [email protected]
The Honourable Omar Alghabra, MP Missisauga Centre, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, [email protected]
Ziad Aboultaif, MP, Edmonton Manning, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, [email protected]
Ali Ehsassi, Mp Willowdale, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, [email protected]
Fayçal El-Khoury, MP Laval- Les Îles, Subcommittee on International Human Rights of The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, [email protected]
Iqra Khalid, MP Mississauga-Erin Mills, Member of The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, [email protected]
The Honourable Anita Anand, MP Oakville, President of The Treasury Board [email protected]
Shafqat Ali, MP Willowdale, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, [email protected]
Majid Jowhari, MP Richmond Hill, Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, [email protected]
Taleeb Noormohamed, MP Vancouver Granville, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, [email protected]
Yasir Naqvi, MP Ottawa-Centre, [email protected]
Salma Zahid, Mp Scarborough Center, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, [email protected]
Sameer Zuberi, MP Pierrefonds-Dollard, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disability, [email protected]