Tag Archives: Occupation of Palestine

[Gaza] situation continues to deteriorate: in 2020, we sail for the children of Gaza

Dear Supporters, 

 

For more than a decade, Israel and Egypt have blockaded the Gaza Strip, by land, air and sea. For most of that decade, the Canada Boat to Gaza has been sailing with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in solidarity with Palestine to break the illegal blockade of Gaza. Nothing is getting better there. During Gaza’s Great March of Return, Israeli  forces have killed at least 267 people and maimed 30 000 other. Gaza will very soon be uninhabitable. Innocent women, children and men will soon have even less access to clean drinking water, food and other essentials of life. Our Canadian government remains complicit in this crime.

 

Canada Boat to Gaza has been busy since our last sailing in 2018. This summer we partnered with the US Boat to Gaza to hold local flotilla actions to raise awareness about the dire situation in Gaza. CBG held two events in London, Ont, and we increased awareness across the country. Our partners in the US held actions in St. Louis, Madison, Chicago, San Francisco, Avalon – Catalina Island, Spokane, Mary’s River, Quilcene Bay, Bellingham, Lyme and more. See it all here. The Canadian captain of the 2018 Flotilla vessel Freedom, John Turnbull, participated in the recent Bellingham event : 

 

The situation in Gaza is unimaginable to most Canadians. Lack of clean drinking water is an issue in some communities here at home. In Gaza, it affects almost two million people. The effects of trauma on this population, including those who have been peacefully protesting during the Great March of Return, are immeasurable. This year, as we plan for our 2020 Flotilla, we are focussing on children and youth in Gaza. We will be reaching out to individuals and organizations who can help us raise awareness about this human-made humanitarian crisis and our responsibility for it. And, as always, we will be holding our government accountable for their complicity in Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

 

Our work is not finished and we all need to continue until Palestine is free. We need your help. Please consider volunteering with us as we prepare for our actions in 2020. We need help event planning, fundraising and more. Contact us today at canadaboatgaza@gmail.com

A critical way to help this campaign is to contribute financially. There are different ways you can make a donation. Click here to donate. We ask you to consider a monthly donation. We are pleased to accept e-transfers from Canadian bank accounts (Interac) or online using a major credit card or PayPal account. You can also donate by cheque or money order and mailing to Canadian Boat to Gaza, PO Box 1950, London Stn. B, London, Ontario N6A 5J4, CANADA
 

Please help us spread the word about our campaigns:

– share our messages with your family, friends and/or work colleagues and encourage them to join our mailing list; 
– send an endorsement message from your association, union, congregation or political party;
– organize and attend events to raise funds and awareness for our campaign;
– join a Freedom Flotilla campaign near you and encourage others to do so;
– follow us on the web, Facebook, Twitter (see below) and share our posts widely.
 

Twitter: @GazaFFlotilla

www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaza        
www.facebook.com/BateauCanadienGaza 
www.facebook.com/FreedomFlotillaCoalition  
You can support Canadian Boat to Gaza by donating via e-transfer (Interac, from Canada accounts only), mailing cheques or money orders, or online, see : https://canadaboatgaza.org/donate/.

 In other parts of the world, please consider donating through one of our other partner campaigns in the Freedom Flotilla:  https://jfp.freedomflotilla.org/donate


Together, we can help end the blockade!

 

 

Too many years of occupation and blockade: Freedom Flotilla statement

Israel attacks Palestinian fishers while pillaging gas under Palestinian waters off Gaza

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between 1 January and 15 May 2017, the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) opened fire on Gaza fishers 133 times. On 15 May, the IOF Navy shot at two fishing boats about three nautical miles from the Gaza shore, northwest of Gaza City, killing a 25 year old fisherman, Mohammed Majed Bakr, whose wife is now a widow with two small children, aged one and three. In violation of International Law, Israel has declared that Gaza fishers can only fish in a zone close to the Gaza shore. When the massive attack on the population of Gaza ended in 2014, Israel promised to increase the size of zone where Palestinians could fish. Once the international media attention had faded, Israel went back on its word. Even within that area the IOF navy routinely terrorises Palestinian fishers, destroying or stealing fishing boats, destroying their nets and confiscating their catch.

These small Palestinian fishing boats are no threat to Israel’s security, but they could impede Israeli efforts to pillage Palestinian gas fields near traditional fishing areas that are approximately seven to ten nautical miles off shore. The Israeli destruction of the Palestinian fishery and theft of undersea resources is one of the many disastrous effects of the on-going Israeli occupation of Gaza, about which international media are largely silent.

The Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights has lasted 50 years. The intensified Israeli blockade of Gaza has lasted for 10 years. These ‘anniversaries’ are an indictment on governments and international authorities that do not put any effective pressure on Israel to end the occupation and the oppression of the Palestinian people. When governments fail, people around the world must take action.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), composed of campaigns from around the world, will continually focus its work on actively challenging the illegal blockade and occupation of Gaza, and on demanding that governments worldwide take action. Palestinian civil society has repeatedly called upon the international community to take steps that will result in Israel’s isolation until it shows respect for international law and human rights. In response, the FFC supports various forms of non-violent struggle adopted by the Palestinian people against oppression and injustice.

Along with organizations representing Palestinian fishers in Gaza, we have started the ‘Solidarity with Gaza Fishers’ campaign. We call on you to join us in casting spotlights on Israeli terror against the fishers of Gaza, in order to pressure the Israeli government to end it and on our respective governments to cease supporting it.

OpenGaza2017Graphic