The four-day “pause” in Israel’s bloody siege of Gaza may save or extend some lives, but it is a far cry from what is required and what millions of people around the world have been demanding for weeks now.
What is urgently needed is a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the blockade of Gaza. All hostages must be freed now, starting with the thousands of Palestinians – including women and children – who have languished in Israeli jails for years.
These actions, combined with the implementation of UN resolutions to create a Palestinian state, are what can secure a lasting peace and end the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government and military.
Canada’s Liberal government, the Conservative opposition and other supporters of Israel are complicit in the ongoing genocide, with their steadfast and brutal refusal to call for a ceasefire and negotiations for a just political settlement.
Such complicity, in concert with active and ongoing support to Israel from Canada’s US and NATO allies, only ensures more Palestinian deaths and the real risk of a regional war.
While insufficient on the part of the Netanyahu war government, the current “pause” is in no small part the result of mass opposition from all areas of the globe, including from within Palestine and Israel. This is the time to continue and increase that opposition, to force an immediate permanent ceasefire and justice for Palestine.
