No. 19

March 20, 2024

Palestine

• Photo Review of Worldwide Actions March 10 to 17

Palestine

Information on Recent Developments

Sana'a, Yemen, March 15

World Condemns Israel's Fourth Criminal Raid on Al-Shifa Hospital
in Northern Gaza

Claiming that hospitals are sheltering resistance fighters, on March 18 at 2:00 am local time, Israel's criminal Defense Forces launched another horrific raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. According to witnesses, the al-Rimal area of Gaza City, where the hospital is located, had been hit by airstrikes. The Gaza Health Ministry said the raid had caused a fire at the entrance of the complex, resulting in cases of asphyxiation among displaced women and children in the facility. The Ministry said people were trapped inside the surgery and emergency units of one of the buildings, while communication had been cut off. "There are casualties, including deaths and injuries, and it's impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and targeting of anyone approaching the windows."

Al-Shifa Hospital following attack, March 18, 2024

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said "special forces, supported by infantry and tanks, conducted a 'precise operation' based on intelligence that the hospital was again being used by Hamas leaders." They said they were fired upon when they entered the compound and that they killed 20 gunmen.

IDF said spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said of the raid on Al-Shifa: "We apprehended more than 200 terrorist suspects that are now being questioned. We eliminated more than 20 terrorists inside the hospital compound." One Israeli soldier was killed in the fighting, he said. He claimed that "Hamas tried to reestablish its base in the hospital and use it as a shelter for terrorists on the run. We will not allow this and will attack and continue to attack any place Hamas tries to reestablish its grip."

Among those killed in the attack was Faiq al-Mabhouh, head of police operations in Gaza who was coordinating with local clans and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to transfer aid into northern Gaza in a secure and orderly manner. Specifically, Al-Mabhouh is said to have organized a convoy that brought in 13 truckloads of aid on March 17 to northern Gaza for the first time in four months, where the IDF did not turn back the trucks nor massacre those seeking aid.

As has occurred on all previous occasions, eye witness accounts and the evidence put the lie to Hagari's account of events aimed at covering up the crimes the Zionists wantonly commit.

For instance, Hagari went so far as to claim that during this raid, the Israeli military would be conducting a "humanitarian effort," by providing food and water. He also insisted that there is "no obligation" for patients and medical staff to evacuate the hospital. Al Jazeera's correspondents on site later reported that Israeli troops used loudspeakers to order the hundreds of people sheltering at the hospital to evacuate. Later on, the Israeli military ordered all civilians near Al-Shifa or in the broader Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City to flee south.

Gaza's Ministry of Health stated that those who attempted to flee the raid were fired upon by snipers and a quadcopter (a drone with four rotors).

A person who has been sheltering at Al-Shifa for over three months, named Abdel-Hady Sayed, told the Associated Press that people were "trapped inside" and that the Israelis would "fire at anything moving ..." News reports indicate that at least 50 people were killed in the raid.

Witnesses said that Al Jazeera Arabic's correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul was severely beaten by Israeli soldiers before he and a colleague were arrested and taken to an unknown location. His vehicle, cameras and equipment were all destroyed. They were released some 12 hours later. They reported that along with others detained they ere stripped of their clothing and further beaten.

A prolonged siege and raid on Al-Shifa in November 2023 had effectively destroyed its ability to provide care. The largest hospital complex in the Gaza Strip, it was only recently made able to provide some basic services. Gaza's Ministry of Health said some 30,000 people were trapped inside Al-Shifa.

While this was going on, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to repeat that the raid on Rafah will take place as soon as the military is ready, while Hagari spoke about evacuating the 1.4 million people taking refuge in Rafah to "humanitarian islands" where they will be given food and water.

A day before the assault on Al-Shifa, Al-Qassam Brigades released a video showing the killing of Yitzhar Hoffman, an Israeli officer in the elite Shaldag Unit, who is believed to have been the commander responsible for besieging and storming of Al-Shifa Hospital in November 2023. They also released a statement, providing context to the video showing the attack on Al-Shifa in November to be one of the bloodiest chapters of the war, as was the Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on October 17, 2023 where hundreds were killed.

U.S. Attempts to Destroy Resistance, Stall Ceasefire and Enable Israel to Continue Acting with Impunity

The Palestinian people in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, continue to resist the heinous crimes Israel is committing against them with utmost courage. They are supported without letup by the courageous humanitarian workers, media which works with integrity and the peoples of the world. Meanwhile, even as U.S./Israeli crimes escalate, it becomes increasingly obvious that the U.S. is doing everything within its power to put a new governing authority in place in Occupied Palestine as well as in Israel. It seeks to give the occupation a lease on life by destroying Palestinian measures to create a national unity government which upholds the aims of the Palestinian resistance.

News reports inform that while Israel's slaughter of Palestinians continues unabated, the Israeli occupation army announced that, before its expected ground assault on Rafah, it intends to direct a large portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the southern Gaza town of Rafah towards "humanitarian islands" in the centre of the Strip.

"Israeli army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said that transferring those in Rafah to the designated areas, which he said would be done in coordination with international actors, was a major part of the army's preparations for the expected invasion of Rafah. Israel says Hamas maintains four battalions in Rafah that it wants to destroy," Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports.

Hagari added: "We need to make sure that 1.4 million people or at least a significant amount of the 1.4 million will move. Where? To humanitarian islands that we will create with the international community."

To hear the word humanitarian come out of the mouths of the likes of the IDF and Israeli Government has become par for the course. The U.S., Canada and other countries which support Israel propagate the filthy Israeli disinformation that Israel is carrying out its slaughter by making sure it does everything in its ability to make sure civilians are not harmed. In this vein, Hagari stressed that these islands would provide temporary housing, food, water and other necessities for the evacuated Palestinians, MEMO writes.

This is the same Israel speaking that impedes the entry of trucks carrying aid at the Rafah Crossing from Egypt. The MEMO report added: "He did not mention when Rafah would be evacuated nor when the attack on the city would begin, explaining that Israel wants the timing to be appropriate from an operational standpoint and for it to be coordinated with Egypt, which said it does not want an influx of displaced Palestinians crossing its borders."

Hamas Comprehensive Proposal for Ceasefire

On March 14, Hamas issued a statement informing that it presented to mediators Egypt and Qatar a comprehensive vision of a ceasefire deal in Gaza that is based on stopping the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The plan included providing relief and aid, the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, and the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, it added.

The proposal Hamas presented to mediators also encompasses its vision of the prisoner exchange file, stressing that the resistance movement will remain committed to the rights and concerns of the Palestinian people.

The movement did not announce details of the plan, however, Reuters reported the following day that the proposal entailed the release of women, including "female recruits," children, elderly, and ill captives in exchange for the release of 700-1,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the initial exchange.

According to Reuters, Hamas said it would agree on a date for a permanent ceasefire after the initial exchange of captives and detainees, and that a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would be agreed upon after the first stage. All captives and detainees from both sides would be released in a second stage of the plan.

Israel's Prime Minister dismissed Hamas' proposal saying it was based on "unrealistic demands." He has repeated announcements that Israel will invade Rafah to wipe out Hamas.

Palestine Authority Submits to U.S. Pressure to Appoint New Prime Minister

Also in the news on March 14, Palestine Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas appointed a new prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa. The U.S. praised the move in glowing terms with National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Adrienne Watson issuing an immediate statement which said, "We welcome the appointment today of Dr. Mohammed Mustafa as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and we urge the formation of a reform cabinet as soon as possible. The United States will be looking for this new government to deliver on policies and implementation of credible and far-reaching reforms. A reformed Palestinian Authority is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people and establishing the conditions for stability in both the West Bank and Gaza."

The NSC is President Biden's principal forum for national security and foreign policy decision-making. The statement once again confirms that the PA is acting on U.S. orders as part of machinations to put facts on the ground in the occupied territories which the U.S. thinks will save Israel's aim of continuing its occupation of Palestinian lands and achieving its dream of a "Greater Israel." This is taking place at a time the Biden administration also connives to remove Benjamin Netanyahu from the office of the Prime Minister in Israel and bring in a more compliant government. Evidence of this is the reception given to the member of Israel's War Cabinet Benny Gantz in both Washington, DC and Ottawa.

In response to the PA appointment of a new PA Prime Minister, four Palestinian resistance organizations -- Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian National Initiative -- issued a joint statement on March 15 opposing the move. The statement said that forming a new government without national consensus was a "reinforcement of the policy of exclusivity and a deepening of division, at a pivotal historical moment, when our people and their national cause are in dire need of consensus and unity."

"These steps indicate the depth of the crisis within the PA's leadership, its separation from reality, and the large gap between it and our people [...] which is confirmed by the opinions of the vast majority of our people who have expressed their loss of confidence," the statement said. It added that Palestinians needed a "unified national leadership," in preparation of free and fair elections with the participation of "all components of the Palestinian people."

"We also call on all national forces and factions, especially the brothers in the Fatah movement, to take serious and effective action, in order to agree on managing this historical and pivotal stage," the organizations said. They added that that must be taken "[i]n a way that serves our national cause, and fulfills the aspirations of our people to seize their legitimate rights, liberate their land and sanctities, and establish their independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital."

Yemen's Support for Palestinian Resistance

In other news, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of Yemen's Ansarullah popular resistance movement, announced on March 14, that the Yemeni forces would expand their operations to include Israeli or Israeli-linked vessels that pass through the Indian Ocean and through the Cape of Good Hope. The announcement was also made at the one-million person march in Sana'a on March 15 where the spokesman of Yemen's Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, released a statement saying that in addition to targeting Israeli vessels or those associated with the occupying regime in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea since October 7, 2023, it is starting pro-Palestinian operations in the Indian Ocean as well.

The Yemeni forces, he said, "carried out three operations against three Israeli and American ships in the Indian Ocean with a number of appropriate naval missiles and drones, and the three operations successfully achieved their goals."

Yemen has denounced the United Nations Security Council's March 18 condemnation of its maritime operations in support of Palestine in the Red Sea, saying that the international body is dangerously serving U.S. interests and supporting the genocide in Gaza. The Security Council condemned "in the strongest terms" Yemeni strikes against Israeli-linked ships as well as U.S. and British assets in the Red Sea and demanded that all such attacks "cease immediately."

In a statement on March 19, the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said, "The UN Security Council's statement concerning Yemeni operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea reflects dangerous subservience to criminal U.S. interests, and at the same time confirms support for the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza."

"It would have been better for the UN Security Council to stop [the U.S.] from supplying weapons to the usurping Zionist entity, because of which thousands of massacres have been committed against people of Gaza," the Yemeni statement said. It reiterated that Yemen's maritime operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea are closely connected to unfolding developments in Gaza, conducted for humanitarian reasons, and enjoy solid support of the Yemeni nation and all freedom-loving people worldwide.

"The operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces will continue, and will not stop unless the criminal Zionist aggression against Gaza stops and the siege on the territory is lifted," the statement concluded.

The Al Masirah television channel, run by the Houthis in Yemen, has reported 10 new air attacks by the U.S. and UK militaries. It said the attacks targeted the al-Jabbana and al-Faza areas in the port city of Hodeidah, which has been a main target of the U.S.-UK air strikes that have hit multiple governorates across Yemen since the Houthis started targeting cargo and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November in support of the Palestinians.

On March 8, Yemen's Ansarullah movement conducted a test flight of a hypersonic missile and is gearing up to integrate these missiles into its military arsenal, a military source affiliated with the movement told Sputnik. "Missile forces of the movement have successfully tested a missile that can reach speeds of up to Mach 8 (10,000 kilometres per hour or 6,200 miles per hour) and is powered by solid fuel. Yemen plans to begin manufacturing it for use in attacks in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel," the source said.

Support for Palestinian Resistance in Many Arab Cities

Evening prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Friday, March 15, 2024

Many Arab cities witnessed marches and protests following Friday prayers on March 15, in which thousands of protesters participated in support of the Palestinian people and to denounce the brutal aggression of the Israeli occupation against the Gaza Strip, and to protest against the war of starvation against its inhabitants.

In East Jerusalem, about 90,000 people performed the evening and Tarawih prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan in response to the call of Hamas to thwart IDF threats to not permit worshipers to enter the mosque. In Morocco, the Moroccan Authority for Supporting the Nation's Causes announced the organization of 125 demonstrations in 60 cities in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and in protest against the Israeli aggression. In Jordan, thousands of Jordanians participated in marches after Friday prayers, organized by the National Forum for Supporting the Resistance, which included demonstrations in six Jordanian governorates and cities, denouncing the war of starvation in the Gaza Strip.

In Yemen, Yemenis demonstrated on Friday in the capital, Sana'a, in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The Saba News Agency, affiliated with the Ansarullah group, reported that Sana'a witnessed a million-person demonstration under the slogan "Yemen's Ramadan, a flood that triumphs for Gaza." The protesters raised Yemeni and Palestinian flags and banners denouncing the genocidal war waged by the Israeli occupation army against the besieged Palestinian people. Several Yemeni governorates also witnessed similar demonstrations in support of Gaza and in condemnation of the Israeli crimes.

Deepening Crisis Within Israel

Other news agencies carry reports from various sources which point out that Israel has already lost the war. Israeli newspaper Maariv on March 17 published an analysis by retired Israeli Major General Yizkhak Barik that "Israel cannot lie to its people for a long time and has already lost the war with the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas." Barik wrote, "We have already lost the war with Hamas, and we are also losing our allies in the world." "What is happening in the Gaza Strip and against Hezbollah in Lebanon will blow up in our faces sooner or later, and then the truth will be revealed in all its hiddenness," Barik wrote, accusing the Israeli leadership of living "in an illusion." Barik warned that Israel is not ready for a regional war, which would be "thousands of times more difficult and serious than the war in the Gaza Strip." He wrote, "Every day our soldiers are killed and seriously injured [in Gaza] by booby traps and explosives when they enter houses without any inspection, and without using appropriate measures." The Major General concluded, "If a regional war breaks out that destroys the country, there is no doubt that in the history of the people of Israel, they will be remembered forever."

For its part, Al Mayadeen reports as follows on March 17:

"Israeli Security Minister, Yoav Gallant, held an alternate meeting with the heads of Israeli security and military apparatuses after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to convene the war cabinet on the [night of March 16], according to Israeli media outlets.

"Headlining the meeting's agenda was the prisoner exchange file, as participants were informed of intel regarding a possible prisoner exchange deal. Top security and military officials, alongside members of the Israeli negotiating envoy, discussed the proposals presented by the Israeli side during mediated talks with the Palestinian Resistance. Their focus centred on the obstacles hindering the finalization of a deal.

"Netanyahu had refused to convene a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet, which is experiencing continuous turmoil as a result of strategic and in-house disputes. The Israeli Prime Minister has been accused of sidelining members of the war cabinet when it comes to crucial decisions and positions such as the prisoner exchange file.

"This most recent news adds to evidence of such claims, as Netanyahu denied Gallant, as an essential member of the war cabinet and the larger coalition government, from going over the file with other members of the war cabinet and top Israeli officials.

"This comes at a time when Israeli analysts are increasingly pointing to a 'dangerous strategic predicament,' resulting from a long war of attrition it approaches on both the Northern Front with Lebanon and the Southern Front with the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.

"Amos Harel, a military analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, criticized the Israeli Prime Minister saying that he is the one who should be held responsible for exacerbating 'unique' troubles that Israel is facing.

"The analyst said that Israel's woes are a direct result of Netanyahu's personal ambitions and his attempt to escape 'justice.' He added that Netanyahu does not 'present Israelis with the dangers of the security and political situation, but instead, he shares legends about his successes and achievements along with false hopes of absolute victory.'"

Canadian Parliament's Amended Motion Calling for Ceasefire Is a Scam

Lawyers4palestine posted a justified evaluation of the amended motion adopted by the House of Commons on March 18 calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. They said on Instagram: "Unfortunately, this motion is a scam." This is because it states that Israel has the right to defend itself and in defending itself must respect international humanitarian law when, in fact, international law does not recognize the right of an occupying power to "defend itself." By amending the language of the motion from "military goods" to "arms exports" the Liberals ensured the status quo where Canada continues to approve "non-lethal" military exports to Israel, Lawyers4palestine elaborated.

Prior to the vote on the amended motion, Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly made it clear that no motion in Parliament was going to change her government's foreign policy! The amended motion, as well as being non-binding, gives the government all the leeway it needs to carry on "business as usual' in support of Zionist Israel and the crimes it is committing.

The 14 amendments proposed by the Liberals and accepted by the NDP essentially turned the motion originally presented by the NDP on February 27, into a reiteration of already-stated government policy. It emphasized the constant mantra of the Trudeau government that 1) Israel has a right to defend itself, 2) Hamas is a terrorist organization that must be defeated and lay down its arms, and 3) that Canada will work with its international partners to pursue the goal of peace in the Middle East and for a negotiated two-state solution.

The NDP agreed to amend the motion and the Conservative Party, rightly, pointed out that the amendment fundamentally changed the original motion which, among other things, called for Canada to officially recognize the state of Palestine. The vote was 204 to 118 in favour of the amended motion.

It all showed how irrelevant Parliament is when a vote can be called that violated the rules of parliament in that it was a completely different motion to the one on the table, not an amendment, and that it had not even been translated into the other official language. It also revealed a speaker who, it seems, is merely an adjunct of the Liberal cabinet.

The just and principled stand of the worldwide movement in defence of the Palestinian people is that Israel must be stopped and held to account for its crimes, full support for the Palestinians' right to be, to resist the occupation and to return to the lands from which they were expelled by force, and that it is the Palestinian people who will decide how their state will function. The Canadian Parliament has once again declared that it will not take measures to hold Israel to account and considers that it has the right, with its international partners to interfere in the internal affairs of the Palestinian people. Refusal to recognize the state of Palestine is a clear message that Canada and its partners do not recognize Palestinians' right to be as a sovereign nation, without which there is no "solution."

(With files from Palestine Chronicle, Palestine Information Centre, MEMO, Middle East Eye, Sputnik, Al-Mayadeen, White House.)

Photo Review of Worldwide Actions March 10 to 17

Ottawa, March 16

CANADA

National Capital Region

In Ottawa on March 13, an action was held as part of the Stop the World for Gaza Global Day of Action. People gathered at the Human Rights Monument and marched up Laurier Avenue, stopping at and blocking the intersection at Laurier Avenue and Nicholas Street to denounce the atrocities of the Zionist entity as it intensified its torture and forced starvation of the Palestinian people as Ramadan started. They also denounced Canada's complicity in the genocide and reiterated that people of conscience refuse to be complicit in these crimes and called for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocide and an arms embargo against Israel.

March 13

Two days later on March 16, for the 23rd consecutive week since the beginning of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, close to 3,000 people marched once again through the streets of Ottawa. Families with their children, the youth and the elderly, all marched with the firm conviction that their voices matter and that justice for Palestine must and will prevail.

At the Human Rights Monument, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement said: "For the past 160 days, we have witnessed a genocide that has taken the lives of over 30,000 Palestinians and we know that the number is closer to 40,000, as bodies are still stuck under the rubble. Just this week, we witnessed yet another 'flour massacre' in which Zionist forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid. These war crimes are being broadcast for the whole world to see, while western governments, our government, continue to turn a blind eye and continue to aid and abet this genocide."

He reminded every one of the unwavering resilience and strength of Palestinians, who continue to resist and fight for their freedom, for their rights, for their pride and their dignity. He went on to say: "We gather here to take up our role in the Palestinian liberation struggle to demand action and stand against Zionism, right here on Turtle Island. We as Palestinians of the diaspora are not just in solidarity with our siblings back home in Palestine, we are fighting on another front here in the heart of the empire, in the belly of the beast. We have a responsibility to the people of Gaza who pay the highest price and the greatest sacrifice for our collective liberation. We demand a permanent ceasefire, we demand the full withdrawal of Zionist forces from Gaza, an end to the 17 year-long siege on Gaza, and the full liberation of our people, of our land and a free Palestine from the river to the sea."

He ended by saying: "This Monday [March 18], a motion will be presented in the House of Commons calling for an arms embargo on Israel. That's why it's crucial that we all hold our own MPs accountable and that we demand that they support this motion."

March 16

Nova Scotia

Halifax

On March 16, over 400 youth, students, and workers gathered at the Garrison grounds in Halifax to mobilize, discuss the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and march through the streets to demand a ceasefire and an end to the occupation and genocide in Palestine. The rally began as usual, with a Pakistani woman greeting everyone shouting, Welcome Humanity!, followed by cheers and raised fists from participants.

After a couple of speakers, everyone filled the streets with their signs held high, flags blowing in the wind and voices ready. Powerfully they chanted, Down With the U.S. War Machine, from Palestine to the Philippines! Yemen Yemen Makes Us Proud, Turn Another Ship Around! Gaza Gaza You Will Rise, Halifax Is on Your Side! From the Sea to the River, Palestine Will Live Forever! Not Another Nickel, Not Another Dime, No More Money for Genocide! The people, United, Will Never Be Defeated!

The march followed a route through downtown Halifax, where business owners, workers, and Haligonians came out of shops with their fists in the air to join the chanting. The presence of young children handing out flyers to those passing by was an inspiration to many. As the march went along, the group would stop for speakers or performances. This weekend, Jenn Grant, a Haligonian singer and songwriter performed her new song Hello Everyone (Ceasefire Now) live with her partner and friend. Everyone joined in for the chorus to sing, No one is free until everyone is free! Ceasefire now! The song is available on YouTube and features over 35 musical artists from across Canada, Australia and the UK.

The next speaker was a young Jewish woman who spoke with strength stating, "I will not let the pain and suffering of my ancestors to be used as a weapon of oppression and terror. My family did not survive pogroms and persecution for me to stand idly by while Palestinians wear the same heartbreak and agony on their faces that my family did [...] It is our moral duty as Jews to fight for the liberation of all oppressed people, and especially to fight against those who would do it in our name. This is how we resist. We resist by standing together, Jews and Palestinians alike, by refusing the hatred and indoctrination Zionism seeks to fill us with. We do not resist alone, but as one!"

As the group marched on, some songs were played including the Swedish song Leve Palestina (Long Live Palestine), and a beautiful song by a young Mi'kmaw woman.

The rallies have been well attended by youth and students, including Dalhousie University students. At last week's rally, a Palestinian student who spoke started by saying "I understand many of you feel helpless as students and regular civilians that live thousands of miles away. However, that is not the case at all. For we the people have the ability to disrupt, organize and act." He went on to discuss the three main demands of the Palestinian civil society, set out in 2005, which include, 1) Ending the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands, 2) Recognizing the basic human rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel and 3) Respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their lands and homes as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.

He ended saying, "Together we shall never falter in our pursuit of Justice, for we must uphold the saying Never Again and keep that energy for all people, regardless of their race or creed [... ] Palestinians are victims, it's true. However I refuse, we refuse, to be the perfect victim. For we will not take this subjugation quietly, we will not take it laying on our backs. We shall make as much noise as we can! And if we are going down, we are going down fighting! Down with the occupation! Long live Palestine!"

March 16

Quebec

Rimouski

March 17

Montreal

For more than an hour and a half on the afternoon of March 14, protesters lined up on the street facing the main entrance to the hotel in Old Montreal where Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly was scheduled to speak along with other members of the Trudeau Cabinet at a Liberal fundraiser. This included Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller. The participants at the picket held placards and banners demanding that Canada take a stand and denounce Israel's genocidal crimes against the people of Gaza. They shouted slogans Free, Free Palestine! Joly, Joly, Your Hands Are Red and Trudeau, Trudeau, Pick a Side, Justice or Genocide! and more.

Four days prior, Joly met with the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz where, in the words of Global Affairs Canada, she "reiterated Canada's long-standing position that Israel has the right to exist and defend itself in accordance with international law." None of the ministers dared show up in front of the demonstrators, preferring to enter by car into the hotel's underground parking.

As the March 14 picket ended, activists from the surrounding boroughs of Ville-Marie and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve went on demonstrating through the streets of Old Montreal.

March 14

On March 17, amongst the 800 demonstrators at the weekly march in support of Palestine who addressed the crowd, a representative from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) denounced this so-called humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea, set up by the U.S., Canada and the European Union. He said that people will find out what are the real reasons behind this latest ploy.

"We have not stopped taking to the streets, raising our flag, speaking out for Palestine, everywhere we are. Our people in Gaza are facing not only a genocide, they are facing mass starvation by the Israeli regime with the complete backing of the United States of America, with the complete backing of our own Canadian government," he said.

"Our Canadian government does not represent us, they do not represent the people, nor our demands. They represent only the interests of the ruling class, of the political class. [...] They wish to destroy the will of our people, because we fight back, we resist. We will continue to fight until total liberation and until full return of every single Palestinian refugee. Our demands are very clear. We want an immediate and permanent ceasefire now, and the release of all our Palestinian prisoners from Zionist jails, every single one of them," he said.

"We want an end to this foreign settler colonial project called Zionism in our region. And we want an end to all Canadian and western complicity in this occupation, in this genocide," he said.

"I want to remind you that we are the voice of the people, we are the ambassadors of the voice of Gaza, of the West Bank, of every person that is oppressed on this planet, " he concluded.

Others brought to the attention of the crowd that some 12 students at McGill University have been on a hunger strike for 28 days now. "They have taken it upon themselves to go on a hunger strike, since before Ramadan, and some of them have been on an indefinite hunger strike with no food or water, while others have been with just water, salt water," one said. She denounced the hypocrisy of the McGill administration that makes statements about the hunger strikers, about concern for their health and tells them that they should stop this for their own health and safety. "This is the same administration that is completely silent on what is happening in Gaza to the people who have no food or water or electricity. These students who have been on hunger strike are demanding that McGill University end its complicity with all Israeli and Zionist institutions and companies complicit in this occupation! The McGill administration has refused to even meet with the hunger strikers!," she added.

Another person who spoke to the crowd said, "We have a situation in this country where there is a trade agreement with Israel that allows products to come in from the occupied West Bank duty-free. The biggest outrage, the biggest Canadian contribution to Palestine and dispossession, something that doesn't get hardly any attention, is the fact that there are hundreds of organizations, registered charities in this country that raise more than a quarter billion dollars a year for projects in Israel. Subsidized by all Canadian taxpayers. And there are some of these organizations that directly support the Israeli military, that directly support racist organizations in Israel, that directly support settlements, contrary to national law, in the West Bank."

He ended by saying that wherever these politicians go we will be there. "Just this last couple days, on Friday, In Toronto, Justin Trudeau had to escape through a back exit because there were so many protesters at a fundraiser. In Saint John, New Brunswick, Pierre Poilievre's fundraiser was disrupted."

Before starting the march the organizers reminded everyone to come out on Saturday, March 23 at 2:00 pm in Montreal for a big protest and march for Palestine organized by pro-Palestinian organizations in Quebec.

March 17

Ontario

Toronto

On March 15 on short notice, hundreds of people showed up at the King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto to denounce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his cowardice and support for the U.S.-sponsored Israeli genocide against the people of Palestine. For this he has earned the moniker "Genocide Justin." Trudeau was the guest at a Liberal Party fundraising dinner where the ticket price was $1,725 per person and $825 for youth under 35; the monies going into the Liberal Party coffers for the next federal election in 2025. The spirited protest was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Toronto4Palestine and others.

A phalanx of police, including two rows of police on horseback, stood behind barricades set up to block the hotel entrances, allowing Trudeau to enter the hotel through a side door.

The protesters kept up a steady chanting of slogans that was heard around the hotel for blocks including Hey Trudeau, You Can't Hide, We Charge You with Genocide!, Hey Trudeau, Pick a Side, Justice or Genocide!, From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!, From the Sea to the River, Palestine Will Live Forever! and many others.

The youth leading the chants pointed out that it is unconscionable that while Palestinians are facing the most brutal bombing and starvation campaign aimed to wipe them out, with more than 30,000 people dead, Trudeau and the Liberals are having a banquet.

They also underscored the heroism of the Palestinians pointing out that nothing will stop the Palestinian people from being victorious and affirming their right of return.

The youth organizers expressed appreciation to everyone that for close to 160 days, Torontonians have been coming out and supporting the people of Gaza and the Palestinian people who are facing the most heinous crimes of the U.S.-Israeli forces. They noted that this unity with the Palestinians and the unity of the whole world with Palestine has helped to keep the resistance going and that no matter the hardships, the Palestinian people will prevail over the Zionists and their allies such as the U.S. and Canada. They said that Canada's complicity in this genocide will be exposed whenever Trudeau or any other Zionist sympathizer of the government shows up in public, that it will not be "business as usual."

Picket outside Liberal fundraiser attended by Trudeau, March 15

March 16

Sudbury

March 16

Windsor

On the afternoon of March 11, University of Windsor students and allies held a "die-in" in the common area of the Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law. The aim was to build support among students, faculty and administration for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, given that a resolution to that effect was coming before the University of Windsor Student Alliance.

One of the participants read out a speech condemning Canada's complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and called for the government to instead act in keeping with the order issued by the International Court of Justice to fulfil its obligations under the Genocide Convention and in accordance with international law. Canadian institutions, including universities and their law faculties have the legal and moral duty as well to contribute to holding Canada to account, she said. She appealed in particular to the University of Windsor Faculty of Law to act to uphold its commitments to social justice, decolonization, addressing historical injustices and putting an end to institutional racism. She then called on the university to join students in participating in BDS as a way to advance justice by putting pressure on Israel to abide by international law, stop its ethnic cleansing and war crimes. She also appealed to academics to do their part in their classrooms and their disciplines to advocate for justice for Palestine and to discuss the humanitarian crisis that has been imposed on the population of Gaza. In campuses across the country, students and faculty are active in campaigns aimed at affirming their right to support Palestine, breaking academic, financial and institutional ties that support the Israeli occupation, while many universities also conduct research tied to the war production.

On March 17, a rally and march were held in Windsor's downtown core. Slogans shouted during the march included Resistance to Genocide We Defend with All Our Pride! Resistance Is justified When Your Land Is Occupied! We Have to Fight with All Our Might for Simple, Basic Human Rights! Free Free Palestine! and Ceasefire Now!