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November 11, 2006
McDonough urges Israel to end military offensive in Gaza
OTTAWA - NDP Foreign Affairs and International Development Critic, Alexa McDonough (Halifax) today urged Israel to end its military offensive and withdraw from Gaza. “Ongoing military attacks are wreaking destruction and havoc in Gaza. Israeli assaults have caused hundreds of civilian deaths with no improvement in Israeli or Palestinian security,” said McDonough. “Regrettably, the Hamas supreme leader has now declared an end to the 21-month ceasefire with Israel and may risk even more deaths of both innocent Israelis and Palestinians.” In Gaza, sixty unarmed minors have been killed by the Israeli military since June. On Wednesday, Israeli artillery fire killed eighteen Palestinians, including at least six children in the town of Beit Hanoun. These civilian deaths occurred at the end of a week-long Israeli assault designed to counter militants, who Israeli military claim, have been firing rockets at Israel from the town over the past year. “The fact that a cemetery under construction had to be hastily opened for yesterday's mass burial because no other cemetery in town had enough room to bury the family together, speaks volumes about the extent of suffering of civilians in Gaza,” said McDonough. “The global community must do more than urge restraint,” said McDonough. Canada must support the call at the UN for an immediate ceasefire by all parties, an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and deployment of UN troops at the Israeli-Gaza border.”
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