Montréal, le 18 février 2009 - Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
     After more than 20 months of strict Israeli restrictions on millions of dollars worth of aid and supplies to Gaza, Canada finally raised its voice in protest - against Hamas.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon's Feb. 4th statement against Hamas' seizure of UN relief supplies came after the first of two incidents during the week of February 2, when UN shipments in Gaza were seized at gunpoint by Hamas militants.  While any such seizure by Hamas is illegal and immoral, Canada's swift and disapproving reaction stands in stark contrast to its silence to extended and devastating controls on aid and supplies to Gaza imposed by Israel.  The reason for Canada's differing response remains unexplained.

Hamas militants seized two UN aid shipments on the week of Feb. 2nd, one of flour and rice, the other of blankets and food parcels. The shipments were returned the following week, with Hamas admitting the seizures were a mistake and giving assurances that such seizures would not happen again. These two isolated incidents occur within the context of a 20-month Israeli blockade of Gaza, whose effects have been highly documented. In March, 2008, for example, a coalition of UK-based organizations issued a report on the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which documented how Israel's extreme restrictions on aid movement in and out of Gaza were leading to a lack of basic infrastructure services, rising poverty, high unemployment, deteriorating health services and increased dependency on aid. UN agencies regularly protest Israel's restrictions on their aid efforts, whether limitations on supplies, or personnel. Canada has never once spoken out against Israel's 20-month siege of Gaza.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has been tracking the internationally-sanctioned humanitarian crisis in Gaza for several years, and has issued a number of factsheets and position papers on the crisis as it has deepened. "While it is right to condemn Hamas' seizure of UN supplies,", states CJPME president Thomas Woodley, "the Canadian condemnation lacks moral credibility. If Canada is only going to speak out against the actions of one side in a conflict - actions which are dwarfed in scope by the other side - such condemnations lack authenticity."

CJPME has long called the Canadian government to adopt certain core principles for its Middle East policy, one if which is that of "equal expectations of all." CJPME believes that Canada risks becoming irrelevant in the Middle East as increasingly its statements and positions on the Middle East reflect neither moral neutrality nor a foundation in international law.

For more information, please contact:
Grace Batchoun
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
http://www.cjpme.org/