War on Gaza: SIGN THE PETITION NOW - Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

War on Gaza: SIGN THE PETITION NOW - Canadian Voice of Women for Peace: 

The war on Gaza continues. Last Friday the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel is plausibly committing genocide. This charge will be pursued. In the meantime the ICJ called for interim provisional measures to ensure that genocidal acts are prevented and that aid is delivered. In the days that followed hundreds more Palestinians have been killed and injured. There has not been a ceasefire, which would stop the bombing and be the best chance for both releasing the hostages and releasing Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Right now, everyone in Gaza is being held hostage in a horrific war that has killed or injured 5% of the population and destroyed 60% of the country’s buildings and infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and universities.

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace calls on Canada to stop sending arms to Israel, to restore funding to UNRWA and for steps to be taken for a just resolution.  

Petition:

Israel Not Complying with World Court Order in Genocide Case | Human Rights Watch

Israel Not Complying with World Court Order in Genocide Case | Human Rights Watch: 

Other countries should use all forms of leverage, including sanctions and embargoes, to press the Israeli government to comply with the court’s binding orders in the genocide case, Human Rights Watch said.

Israeli authorities have kept its supply of electricity for Gaza shut off since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks. After initially cutting the entire supply of water that Israel provides to Gaza via three pipelines, Israel resumed piping on two of its three lines. However, due to the cuts and widespread destruction to water infrastructure amid unrelenting Israeli air and ground operations, only one of those lines remained operational at only 47 percent capacity as of February 20. Officials at the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility told Human Rights Watch on February 20 that Israeli authorities have obstructed efforts to repair the water infrastructure.

According to data published by OCHA and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the daily average number of trucks entering Gaza with food, aid, and medicine dropped by more than a third in the weeks following the ICJ ruling: 93 trucks between January 27 and February 21, 2024, compared to 147 trucks between January 1 and 26, and only 57 between February 9 and 21. A survey of impediments to the entry of aid faced by 24 humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza between January 26 and February 15 pointed to a lack of transparency around how aid trucks can enter Gaza, delays and denials at Israeli crossings and inspection points, and concerns about safety of trucks.

By comparison, an average of 500 trucks of food and goods entered Gaza each day before the escalation in hostilities in October, during which time 1.2 million people in Gaza were estimated to be facing acute food insecurity, and 80 percent of Gaza’s population were reliant on humanitarian aid amid Israel's more than 16-year-long unlawful closure.

High-ranking Israeli officials have articulated a policy to deprive civilians of food, water, and fuel, as Human Rights Watch has documented. The Israeli government spokesperson said more recently that there are “no limits” to aid entering Gaza, outside of security. Some Israeli officials blame the UN for distribution delays and accuse Hamas of diverting aid or Gaza police for failing to secure convoys.

Pope Francis renews call for Ceasefire in Gaza -

 YOUTUBE VIDEO

January 27, 2024

Pope Francis made a renewed call for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying that because of global conflict “too many children continue to suffer, to be exploited and to die.” Francis made the remarks during an address to an Italian nonprofit fundraising for a Rwandan orphanage.

Quaker organisations call for a ceasefire and humanitarian protections in Gaza | QUNO

Quaker organisations call for a ceasefire and humanitarian protections in Gaza | QUNO: Stop the violence and allow humanitarian access to Gaza — this is the strong call from Quakers from around the world in a statement issued this week. The Quaker United Nations Office was among signatories to this statement, along with Quaker organisations that work on the ground in Palestine and Israel. 

 “The Israeli government must grant access and safety to the U.N. (United Nations) and humanitarian agencies to fulfill their duties. Instead of further bloodshed, we need immediate humanitarian access for Gaza and adherence to international humanitarian and human rights law,” reads the statement. 

 “We demand that national leaders, faith leaders, and journalists use their power and influence to bring a bold voice for humanitarian protection and to end ongoing war crimes. Wherever there have been war crimes and violations of International Humanitarian Law, there must be accountability.” In their statement, Quakers also said that “violence such as this is never justifiable, and we insist that a ceasefire must be realized along with the return of all hostages”.

 “Following the start of Israel’s attack, Israel also intensified its siege of Gaza, blocking access to water, food, fuel, electricity, and medicine in an act of collective punishment. It directly impacts all people in Gaza.  “People are going hungry and thirsty, and thousands are injured. Medicine is running out, hospitals do not have power and are operating on generators with limited fuel supplies, and overwhelmed medical facilities cannot help those in need. People are dying as a preventable humanitarian crisis deepens. “The moral authority of the international community will be evaluated based on its response to the needs of communities in peril. The time for action is now.”

(the Quakers issued this in Oct 2023). 

UUA Condemns Violence Against Gaza, Urges Immediate and Total Ceasefire | Press Releases | UUA.org

UUA Condemns Violence Against Gaza, Urges Immediate and Total Ceasefire | Press Releases | UUA.org: This statement was developed by the Office of the President and other senior national staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), grounded in the values of Unitarian Universalism and in conversation with previous resolutions, statements, and actions passed by General Assembly, the UUA’s democratically-elected governing body. 

 There are crystallizing moments in the course of history when, in spite of the differences that exist among us, our common reverence for life demands that we speak with moral courage and clarity on the side of love. As people of faith and conviction, Unitarian Universalists share a belief that every human life is sacred, endowed with worth and dignity from the moment of birth, with no person more deserving of freedom and flourishing than any other. Our living tradition has long maintained that the only hells that exist are those that we create for one another, here on earth.

J Street Welcomes Resetting American Policy on Settlements: ‘Inconsistent with International Law’ -

J Street Welcomes Resetting American Policy on Settlements: ‘Inconsistent with International Law’ - J Street

J Street welcomes Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s clear statement today that “new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace,” are “inconsistent with international law” and expansion “only weakens, doesn’t strengthen” Israel’s security.

This move marks an explicit rejection of the Trump-era ‘Pompeo Doctrine’ – restoring US acknowledgment that settlement construction on occupied territory is a violation of international law.

J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said, “J Street called on candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign to reverse the Trump Administration’s permissive view of settlements, which overturned decades of bipartisan American policy. This has been a clear, consistent request by J Street over the last three years, and we welcome the Secretary’s remarks today.”

“Now, the administration must make clear that, particularly in light of the volatility of the current situation between Israelis and Palestinians, there must be no further expansion of the settlement enterprise. The United States government should take further steps to enforce its view – and the view of the international community – that the creeping annexation of the West Bank must stop, including through use of the Executive Order issued by President Biden on February 1.”

The Secretary’s comments follow a provocative announcement yesterday by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of plans to advance over 3,000 settlement units as part of “deepening our eternal grip on the entire Land of Israel.”

Danielle Smith and gender affirming care - petition

Right now in Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith is launching an all-cylinder assault on medically-necessary healthcare for trans people.¹

It’s nothing more than a cynical move to pander to her far right base amid the rising popularity of Trump-style culture wars in Canada. But if she gets her way, Smith’s latest fixation will harm queer and trans people across the province – forcing young people back into the closet and drastically increasing the incidences of youth self-harm and suicides.²

It’s a well-documented fact: gender-affirming care saves lives.^3,4 And denying medically-necessary care to anyone goes against the very premise of Canada’s health care system.

Alberta receives billions every year in federal healthcare funding via the Canada Health Transfer.⁵ Will you sign the petition calling on federal Minister of Health Mark Holland to make access to gender-affirming care a condition of the Canada Health Transfer for all provinces?

 PETITION

Council of Canadians 2nd letter calling for ceasefirel

 LINK

CALLING FOR A CEASEFIRE IN GAZA: OPEN LETTER TO PM TRUDEAU AND MINISTER JOLY

• by Council of Canadians
• February 1, 2024
• Update

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Joly,

I am writing on behalf of the Council of Canadians, including 150,000 supporters and 45 chapters across the country, to urge your government to publicly support the recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and take immediate measures to comply with its orders that all states must work to prevent genocide in the Gaza strip. Your government must:

• actively work for an immediate ceasefire, a negotiated release of all hostages, and an end to the longstanding blockade of Gaza by the Israeli government;
• ensure increased and uninterrupted humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip, including by reversing your pause in funding for UNRWA, and;
• immediately suspend all arms exports to Israel, which in 2022 were valued at more than $21 million.

While the full ICJ investigation is ongoing, the Court has found that there is a plausible case that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, and the provisional measures it recommended on January 26, 2024, were clear: Israel and the international community must take immediate steps to prevent a genocide and any further loss of life. To date, more than 27,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, including nearly 10,000 children.

This ruling has major implications for Canada and must be treated with utmost seriousness. As a signatory to the Genocide Convention, Canada is obliged to act in accordance with the court’s ruling and take steps to end the destruction of civilian life in Gaza.

Canada has the power and leverage – and indeed a moral and legal obligation – to help bring an immediate end to the violence and destruction inflicted on Palestinians. Your government’s inaction places Canada at odds with the majority of Western governments, including the European Union, Norway, New Zealand, Slovenia, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium.

While the recent announcement of $40 million in aid is an important ongoing commitment, pausing funding to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) makes it more likely that Gazans will die from famine and increased diseases they are facing because of Israel’s military actions. UNRWA is a critical agency on the ground whose services cannot be replaced by other organizations. It has said it will be forced to stop operations by the end of February if funding is not restored. We are adding our voices to the dozens of leading aid groups around the world in urging you to change course.

There can be no military solution to this crisis. The humanitarian crisis, ICJ ruling, and spreading conflict across the region require immediate action to prevent further violence. Only a durable ceasefire can prevent further loss of life and create the conditions for a lasting and just peace.

Guyana, Leading the UN Security Council, Is Not Giving Up on a Ceasefire in Gaza

PassBlue LInk

The United Nations Security Council’s continuing failure to agree on a ceasefire in Gaza is troubling many members, including Guyana, which assumes the rotating presidency of the Council on Feb. 1. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s permanent representative to the UN, told PassBlue that her country would continue to lead the conversation to get more humanitarian support to the people of Gaza.

“Several members of the Council continue to call for a ceasefire, but we have at least one Council member that is not at that point as yet,” Rodrigues-Birkett said. “I can tell you that Guyana will continue to call for this as it is with the other members. We have to go back to the mandate of the Council in the maintenance of peace and security around the world.”

The United States, a permanent Council member, is the only country in the body still resisting calls for a ceasefire. Jeffrey Laurenti, an international affairs analyst formerly with the Century Foundation think tank and a UN expert, told PassBlue that Guyana’s effort as rotating president would achieve nothing until President Joe Biden is ready to push “a ceasefire down Israel’s throat.”