Today is the fifth day of the bombing which has now killed 120 people, including at least 22 children, and wounded 920 others. The Israeli military has hit 1,160 targets in Gaza and says there are ‘still hundreds to finish off’. Keep in mind that the Gaza Strip is 6 to 12 kilometres wide and about 41 kilometres long. That makes it about 360 square kilometres in size, just a little larger than half the size of Toronto (at 630 km2). A ground attack also remains a possibility, with tanks and artillery massed along the border and 33,000 reservists mobilized.
The media has largely reported that Israel is legitimately retaliating to rocket fire from Gaza, but the reality is more complex. Amnesty International has criticized the Israeli government for “imposing collective punishment” on Gaza following the murder of three Israeli teens. And Richard Falk, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights and a professor of international law at Princeton University, has commented, “Palestinian resistance to occupation is a legally protected right …Israel’s failures to abide by international law, as a belligerent occupant, amount to a fundamental denial of the right of self-determination … giving rise to a Palestinian right of resistance.”
This week, the UN secretary-general called on “all actors to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further civilian casualties and overall destabilization” and says “the unsustainable situation in Gaza will also need to be addressed in its political, security, humanitarian and development dimensions as part of a comprehensive solution.” Unhelpfully (and contrary to the plea from the UN), Canadian foreign minister John Baird says, “Canada condemns the brazen and indiscriminate attacks that Hamas continues to wage on Israel. Canada believes that Israel has every right to defend itself from such belligerent acts of terrorism.”
In October 2011, the Council of Canadians passed a resolution resolving that the Council of Canadians supporting the Canadian Boat to Gaza to end the illegal blockade of Gaza and calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza, in accordance with international law.
The Boat to Gaza initiative – with the aim of bringing aid to Gaza – was superseded by the Gaza’s Ark initiative. As the organizers explain, “In this initiative, a boat will be refurbished by Palestinian shipbuilders in Gaza and stocked with Palestinian goods and products, then sail through international waters with both Palestinians and internationals on board. The goal is to challenge the ongoing, illegal Israeli blockade and focus worldwide attention on the situation in Gaza and the complicity of the governments that support it or look the other way.”
On Thursday night, during an Israeli military attack on the port of Gaza, the Gaza’s Ark caught fire and given the bombing the civil defense fire brigade was delayed getting to the boat. As seen in this photo, the boat was severely damaged.
The Council of Canadians is also a member of the Canadian Peace Alliance. For updates from them and to see how you can oppose the assault on Gaza, please see their Facebook page here.
