https://www.ndp.ca/vote-for-peace?source=20240315_INBND_PLIS_1_FORWARD_NWMODE_NDP_EN_INBND&utm_medium=INBND&utm_source=NWMODE&utm_campaign=Palestine%2FIsrael_INBND&utm_content=20240315_INBND_PLIS_1_FORWARD_NWMODE_NDP_EN_INBND

For five months we have watched horror unfold in Gaza and in Israel. We grieve with two peoples utterly traumatized by violence, death, and terror. And we are outraged by Canada’s failure to take actions to try to stop it.

Palestinians are suffering on a massive scale from Netanyahu’s bombardments and ground offensive in Gaza. So many innocent people – including thousands of children – have been killed. Many more are forcibly displaced, injured, and now starving. Canadians are terrified for their friends and family in Gaza. Gaza is the worst place in the world to be a child. 

Canadians also continue to mourn friends and family in Israel who were killed in the horrible Hamas terror attacks and fear for their futures. Those whose loved ones were taken hostage fear every day that they will never see them again.  

We are witnessing the complete failure of the international community to uphold international law and the failure of the Liberal government to lead us in the right direction.  

Prime Minister, for five months we have urged you to find the moral courage to take actions to stop this horror. We are outraged by your failure to act. 

Canada cannot stand by while thousands more die.   

In the absence of action from your government, the NDP have put forward a motion calling on your government to: 

- Demand an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages; 

- Suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas; 

- Immediately reinstate funding and ensure long-term continued funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and support the independent investigation; 

- Support the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law committed in the region, and support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court; 

- Demand unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza; 

- Ensure Canadians trapped in Gaza can reach safety in Canada and lift the arbitrary cap of 1000 temporary resident visa applications; 

- Ban extremist settlers from entering Canada, impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide, and maintain sanctions on Hamas leaders;  

- Advocate for an end to the decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories and work toward a two-state solution;  

- Officially recognize the State of Palestine and maintain Canada’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace with its neighbours. 

Canada must call on Israel and Hamas to end this violence NOW, and work towards a sustainable solution where Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace and security, with full recognition of their human rights.