Give Peace a Chance: CLC Statement on the Israel-Palestine Conflict

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has called on the Israeli government and Hamas in Palestine to join an Egypt-brokered deal for an immediate cease fire over the conflict in the Middle East.

The CLC was also critical of Prime Minister Harper for blindly supporting Israel and for its failure to exercise independent diplomatic pressure on both parties of the conflict to join negotiated peace talks toward an immediate cease fire and the respect of international laws.

The CLC wants Israel to de-escalate military activity along the Gaza frontier and for Hamas to stop the shelling of Israeli territory, both of which are fuelling claims and counter claims to justify retaliatory responses that will invariably lead to more bloodshed.

Already over 200 people have died, and over 1000 more have been injured in the conflict.

Decisive leadership is called for by the UN and key member countries to put pressure on both Israel and Palestine to engage in mediation for a peace process that implements the UN Security Council’s call for a de‑escalation of the situation and a two-state solution to the crisis.