The Communist Party of Canada condemns the massacre of 18 unarmed Palestinians and the injury of 1500 others on Friday, March 30th in Gaza. We demand the Canadian government condemn the murders and attempted murders of peaceful protesters.
773 Palestinians were shot by live ammunition by Israeli occupation forces. At least one person was shot in the back and killed. A further 49 Palestinians were injured on Saturday and another Palestinian killed on Tuesday.
The massacre of unarmed demonstrators is reminiscent of the Sharpeville massacre in apartheid South Africa in 1960 and Canada’s position will be remembered.
Canada must act now to ensure that the UN and the world’s governments and peoples force Israel to stop these crimes and allow for an independent investigation, end the illegal blockade of Gaza, and honour the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
The killings were planned by the Israeli military, with 100 snipers lying in wait and the military testing tear gas dropping drones in days prior. According to the Israeli Defense Forces statements on twitter which were later deleted, “Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed.” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has praised the Israeli military’s work in the massacre.
The Trudeau government’s silence in the face of this crime is disgraceful and makes it complicit. This massacre highlights the need to redouble solidarity efforts for an end to the occupation of Palestine and to secure the self-determination for the Palestinian people. Israel, an occupying state with massive support from US and Canadian imperialism, has been permitted to ethnically cleanse a population, refuse it the right of return, and occupy and blockade it in an open air prison. Palestinian resistance has been met with bombings, torture, massacres and assassinations. These war crimes and violations of international law and human rights must be brought to an end through overwhelming international solidarity with the Palestinian people and immediate mass international pressure on Israel and the US to end the attacks.
These latest brutal crimes by apartheid Israel demonstrate the hypocrisy of the Canadian government. Only a few days ago the government was busy war-mongering against Russia by expelling Russian diplomats, now they are silent. If the government was actually concerned about peace and democracy it would join with labour unions, student union and people’s organizations in Canada and around the world and support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions measures against Israel. How can Russian diplomats be expelled over bizarre allegations, while Israel’s diplomats remain as favored allies of the Canadian government while their country flagrantly violates international law?
The US has already blocked a UN statement to call for an independent investigation into Israel’s attack on Friday. We demand that the US and Israel stand aside and allow for an independent and transparent investigation as has been supported by the European Union and the United Nations’ Secretary General.
The Communist Party of Canada stands in full solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination. We call on the government of Canada to immediately condemn the massacre and take action to pressure Israel and the US to adhere to the internationally recognized framework for a peaceful political solution based on Security Council resolutions 242 and 338: the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as the capital, based on the 1967 boundaries, with the guaranteed right of return to Palestinians.
We further call on the labour and democratic movements in Canada to join forces to denounce the massacre, to step up the campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions demanding the end of the occupation, the dismantlement of the “security” wall, full equality for Arab Palestinian Israelis and the realization of the rights of refugees.
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada