A Glimmer of Hope That Canada Must Continue to Push For After Thousands of Civilian Deaths

Many Canadian Muslims are seeing the news of break in the fighting with something between utter sadness and a tiny glimmer of hope.

5000+ children have been killed.

Northern Gaza has been leveled to the ground.

This temporary pause is good - but only if it bridges to greater action. This is especially true since Netanyahu has pledged to continue the war after the pause.

National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) need to see a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war.

This war, this humanitarian disaster, has shown us clearly that Canada needs to take a stronger and clearer role to stand up for a long-term solution for peace that works for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Therefore, we urgently call upon the government to take these interim steps to help ensure that this pause bridges to a long-term peace.

In the coming days, this government must:

• Play a clear role in convening international leaders and allies together in building towards a just peace for all people in the region while calling for a permanent ceasefire;
• Take a clear stance on the rhetoric of ethnic cleansing put forward by extremist leaders in the Netanyahu government; and
• Ensure that no weapon export permits are being granted to anyone involved in the conflict given Netanyahu’s promise to continue the war after 5 days.