Thirteen days ago, I called for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation by the Israeli government, which had begun a horrific siege on Palestinians in Gaza. Since I made that statement, Israel has only escalated its assault on millions of Gazans. 1/
The Israeli Defence Forces have killed thousands of Palestinians, destroyed residential areas, and ordered the evacuation of at least 20 hospitals in northern Gaza. Israel is telling people who are already injured, sick, and dying in hospitals in Gaza to leave. 2/
Since I made my statement, Israel has bombed refugee camps, UN schools, hospitals, airports & the Rafah border crossing between Gaza & Egypt. The unspeakable destruction continues, & represents collective punishment against all Gazans in retaliation for attacks by Hamas. 3/
The Ford government has nothing meaningful to say about these atrocities, and has now targeted me to distract from its own scandals. Those of us committed to Palestinian life refuse to be distracted. 4/
I restate my call for an immediate ceasefire by Israeli forces, and for the immediate restoration of food, water, fuel, and electricity to Gaza. I applaud the many elected officials in Canada who have joined this call in recent days, and I hope even more of you will speak out. 5/
I ground my words in the realities of Israeli apartheid, and Israel’s ongoing domination and occupation of Palestinian lands. Governments and institutions in Canada are trying to use their weight to silence us 6/
They try hard to silence us, so we know our words are powerful, and we must keep speaking out, no matter the cost. Thank you 7/