A flurry of diplomatic activity over the past 10 days has made it clear that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's union-backed Liberal government fully supports the far-right Israeli government's looming onslaught against Rafah. The series of talks involving Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly followed a statement by the Biden administration in the US giving the Netanyahu government permission to proceed to the next stage of its genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had authorized an attack on the southern city of Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million refugees, after a small remaining area was destroyed by US-supplied bombs.
A week earlier, on March 8, Prime Minister Trudeau met with Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz to discuss war plans for Gaza and rising tensions in the West Bank. They “demanded the immediate release of all remaining hostages and called on the international community to maintain pressure to secure their release,” the statement said. In other words, the “international community” should continue to provide Israel with the means to attack Gaza by air, sea, and land in the name of “applying pressure” to free the hostages.
Following this pro-war, pro-genocide declaration, Prime Minister Trudeau has made a disingenuous bid to force the warmonger Gantz, who is threatening to turn southern Lebanon into a Gaza-like wasteland, to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians. I made a plea. He also expressed “concern” for civilians in Rafah. Such supposed concerns for civilians are simply an eye-opener, as the Trudeau government faces sustained protests from workers and youth against the genocide.
Ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau, Gantz traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to proceed with the attack with Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Ta.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Mélanie Joly was on a week-long tour of the Middle East from March 6 to 13 to discuss the war and what she described as a “pathway to sustainable peace.” . Jolie met with her counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates before heading to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank, but made no public statements, leading Politico to call it a “mystery tour.” ” was expressed. Little has been revealed about the content of the talks.
It is clear that clearing the way for Israel's escalation of the Gaza massacre was a major agenda item.
In response to the deaths of well over 30,000 Palestinian civilians in the past five months, Mr. Joly said that Israel's “protection of its own country” was a challenge, according to documents from a March 10 meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz. supported the right. At the same time, she appealed to allow more aid to Gaza through land crossings and a seaport the United States is building just off the coast. The statement reiterated that Joly “reaffirmed Canada's commitment to Israel's security and to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East through a two-state solution.”
On March 11, Jolie announced on Twitter/X that Canada would provide $1 million to support alleged victims of sexual violence in Hamas' October 7 attack. This attack is a cynical claim advanced by the Israeli government and allied groups to increase support for genocide among the Israeli government and its population. The middle class is obsessed with the identity politics of the imperialist center. Mr. Jolie also offered assistance to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in investigating Hamas's alleged crimes.
On Thursday, March 14, Jolie shook hands with Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israel and imperialist supporters in the United States and Canada hope to install the unpopular Mr. Abbas and the PA to serve as overseers of whatever remains in Gaza in the aftermath of the current offensive.
The Trudeau government and its New Democratic Party (NDP) ally have fully supported the genocide since taking office in October. This includes repeated expressions of support for Israel's “right” to slaughter defenseless men, women and children, denial of aid to desperate Palestinians trying to bring their families in Gaza to Canada, It includes a vicious smear campaign against opponents of the genocide. In January, Prime Minister Trudeau denounced the International Court of Justice lawsuit filed by South Africa accusing Israel of the Gaza genocide.
In February, information released by Global Affairs Canada, Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maple, The Trudeau government has announced that it approved the export of $28.5 million in military aid to Israel during the first two months of the attack on Gaza. This figure surpassed the previous 30-year annual record for Canadian military exports to Israel in 2021, which was $26 million.
Canadian imperialism has a long history of supporting the Zionist regime as it expands illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories and maintains an apartheid regime and military occupation to oppress the Palestinian people. Ottawa has repeatedly voted with the United States against U.N. resolutions condemning Israel's violations of international law and war crimes. When then-President Donald Trump provocatively recognized the divided city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Prime Minister Trudeau refused to condemn the action, thereby acquiescing to the government.
Multiple media outlets reported late last week that Ottawa was “slow to make progress” on a recent request from Israel for “non-lethal aid” including dozens of armored vehicles and night vision goggles, citing humanitarian concerns. Reported.
of toronto star Permits to export non-lethal aid to Israel have been blocked for two months, CBC reported, based on anonymous sources. However, a statement from Global Affairs Canada maintained that permits will continue to be reviewed “on a case-by-case basis.”
The contradictory information comes after pro-Palestinian activists and lawyers filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this month seeking to ban non-lethal aid to Israel. Canada has been repeatedly accused of concealing arms shipments and military equipment exports with vaguely worded permits that make it nearly impossible to determine what the government has approved for export.
The NDP has also been involved in calling for the Trudeau government to ban arms sales to Israel. As Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Heather McPherson said on Thursday: “More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and if there is a grave risk of human rights violations, as seen in Prime Minister Netanyahu's horrific shelling, , the Minister is obliged to refuse licenses to export military equipment and technology,” and ground attacks. ”
It's a hot shot aimed at unsettling a politically inexperienced force that has been involved in months of genocide protests across Canada. MacPherson's party has ensured that the minority Liberal government has a majority in parliament and can remain in power. While Canada has staunchly supported the far-right Netanyahu government for years, it hasn't budged at all. Since the start of Israel's brutal onslaught, the NDP has been at the forefront of intimidating opponents of the genocide, including its own allies. Ontario MP Sarah Jama was expelled from her party's parliamentary caucus for declaring solidarity with the Palestinians and calling Israel an “apartheid state” backed by the United Nations and countless aid groups.
The NDP and MacPherson, in particular, have also played a major role in the recent revival of Canadian militarism. Mr. Macpherson has emerged as one of the NDP's leading figures supporting the U.S.-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine, including defending Canada's military exports. The party also supported a motion introduced by far-right conservatives in the House of Representatives in 2021 to accuse China of “genocide” against the Uyghur minority based on fabricated evidence produced by an asylum group linked to the U.S. State Department. did.
