Canadian Palestinian Organizations' Response to AnnexationOn June 24, a coalition of 13 Canadian Palestinian organizations issued a joint letter to Prime Minister Trudeau urging Canada to take a stand against Israel's plan to annex parts of occupied Palestine, to uphold international law and enable self-determination of the Palestinian people. Dear Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada We are writing to urge the government to reject Israel's plans to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territories in the West Bank: namely Palestinian lands in the Jordan Valley to the north and South of Jericho. It has been a long-standing policy of Canada that peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. If Israel proceeds with its annexation plans, it would render the two-state solution impossible, and postpone any hope of justice and peace in Palestine-Israel. Annexation of occupied territory is a flagrant violation of international law and UN Charter principles. The European Union and several European countries, including Britain, Germany and France have already expressed their strong opposition to the Israeli plans. The government's failure to speak out is alarming and problematic, and contradicts its professed support for the international rules-based order. Beyond simple condemnation, Canada must show Israel that there are consequences for disregarding the global consensus for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. As such, The Canadian government must consider trade sanctions against the Israeli government if it does not abandon its annexation plans. The Palestinian-Canadian community is appreciative of a number of things that the Canadian government has done, like the restoration of funding to UNRWA [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], and the refusal to move Canada's embassy from Tel Aviv. But rather than simply reacting to Israel's unlawful annexation plans, we urge the Canadian government to take a longer view, and to work actively to enable the self-determination of the Palestinian people. As such, we exhort you to try to bring an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, recognize the Palestinian people as a nation on the international stage and to recognize the state of Palestine, with full voting rights at the UN. Again, we urge you, in the name of all Palestinian-Canadians and all Canadians of good will, to not overlook Israel's illegal and provocative move. Instead, Canada must stand firm in support of justice, peace, international law and the freedom and self-determination of the Palestinian people. Respectfully, Mr. Mousa Zaidan, President For list of coalition members click here.
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