Canadian parliament petitions for action against Israel

1,266 people so far have signed petition launched by Liberal Party Toronto Deputy Salma Zahid

TORONTO:

A total of 1,266 campaigners at the Canadian parliament have signed a petition urging the government to take action against Israeli violence against Palestinian children.

The petition was launched by Liberal Party Toronto Deputy Salma Zahid on the official website of the Federal Parliament.

It opened for signatures on Oct. 26 and will close on Dec.25.

The petition reiterates that Israeli security forces have been using violence against Palestinian children for a long time.

It urges the government to protect "the rights of children around the world."

"As signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israel has an obligation to ensure basic due process rights and the absolute prohibition against torture and ill-treatment of children in accordance with international juvenile justice standards," the petition read.

It recalled a 2019 UN report on children and armed conflict, and called upon "Israel to uphold international juvenile justice standards, as well as to cease the use of administrative detention for children and end all forms of ill-treatment in detention, and to cease any attempted recruitment of detained children as informants."

Also read: Israel using facial recognition surveillance in Palestinian city

The petition went on to say that Israel prosecutes children in military courts without a fair trial.

"We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to call for an urgent study by the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to review Israel’s treatment of children in Israeli occupied Palestine and compliance with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child," it concluded.

Anti-drone campaign

Some 55 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Canada have launched another campaign calling on their country to block a $5-billion deal to purchase Israeli drones.

The campaign has been launched by bdscoalition.ca.

The campaigners have addressed Transport Minister Omar Alghabara, who is the only Muslim minister of the Canadian government, in a letter demanding that the purchase of Israeli UAVs be discontinued.

The letter draws attention to the fact that Israel's remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) and drone have been tested on thousands of civilians, especially Palestinians.

It demands a ban on the purchase of all kinds of military equipment from Israel.

Also read: Facing fierce protest, Israeli ambassador rushed from London event

The fire on the cargo ship of the Israeli company ZIM, which has been anchored since Nov. 5 off the coast of Victoria, Canada, was also included in the campaign letter.

Recalling that ZIM is Israel's largest cargo shipping company, the letter noted that Israeli weapons are routinely transported from Canadian ports to their final destinations through this company.

The letter stated that port authorities in Canada fall under the Transport Ministry, noting that collaboration with ZIM makes the government “complicit in the ongoing dispossession of the Palestinians.”

It demanded cancellation of "the procurement process and ending the contract for armed surveillance drones."

It also called for canceling the contract with Elbit Systems for Arctic surveillance drones.

It went on to say that Zim ships should be prohibited from accessing Canadian ports and called for "a two-way arms embargo and ending military-security cooperation with Israel.”