July 30, 2006

CAF calls for an emergency meeting of Parliament to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East



The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) is issuing an urgent call to all political parties, unions, churches and civil society organizations to pressure the Harper government to convene an emergency meeting of Parliament to demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and an end to Israel's bombing of Lebanon and Palestine.

More than 54 civilians, at least 34 of them children, have been killed in a town in south Lebanon in the deadliest Israeli strike of the conflict so far. Displaced families had been sheltering in the basement of a house in Qana, which was crushed after a direct hit.

Qana was the site of an Israeli bombing of a UN base in 1996 that killed more than 100 people sheltering there during Israel's "Grapes of Wrath" offensive, which was also aimed at destroying Hezbollah.

Lebanon's prime minister denounced "Israeli war criminals" and cancelled talks with the US secretary of state. The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting. Secretary General Kofi Annan urged members to strongly condemn the Qana attack and to put aside differences to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Several countries have condemned the attack and renewed their calls for an immediate ceasefire - opposed by Israel, the US and UK.

Stephen Harper has emboldened Israel to commit this heinous crime against civilians by describing Israel's actions as a "measured response"; by stating it is"too early" to call for a ceasefire; and by refusing to condemn Israel when it killed eight Canadian civilians and a Canadian UN peacekeeper in Lebanon.

CAF demands that Harper strongly condemn this massacre of civilians and to issue a call for an immediate ceasefire. His failure to do so would be perceived by Canadians as complicity in Israel's war crimes in Lebanon and Palestine.

Contact:
Khaled Mouammar
National President
e-mail: benwalid@rogers.com
Tel.: 416-879-6766



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