Posted on 12/13/2023 10:55:19 AM PST by jerod
'I do not support an unconditional call for a ceasefire,' Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says
The federal government's decision to back a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict without certain conditions has prompted a mix of reactions from Liberal MPs.
Some say they hope it will bring about peace. Others say it amounts to Canada abandoning Israel while it's at war with extremists.
Some Liberal MPs take issue with the wording of the UN resolution, which demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire but does not explicitly call on Hamas to lay down its arms.
The resolution stipulates that "all parties" should "comply with their obligations under international law."
But Hamas — a militant group that has been labelled a terrorist organization by a number of Western countries, including Canada — doesn't adhere to international law. Some supporters of Israel have said the language of the resolution imposes an unfair burden on the country.
In fact, the resolution doesn't even mention the word "Hamas." It also doesn't rule out allowing Hamas to participate in future governments in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly defended the vote, saying there must be an end to "the cycle of violence" that has killed many innocents and left an untold number of Palestinians without water, food, fuel, medicine or shelter....
...Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a Jewish MP who has emerged as a prominent voice for his community in caucus, said he's "very disappointed" in Canada's UN vote.
He said it's "unacceptable" for Canada to throw its weight behind a ceasefire motion that doesn't clearly stipulate that Hamas must drop its weapons and stop fighting Israel.
Housefather said Hamas can't be trusted — it broke the existing ceasefire when it launched its brutal attack on Israel on October 7 — and he accused the militant group of violating the humanitarian pause that was put in place last month to get aid in and foreign nationals and hostages out.
"The motion was an unconditional call for a ceasefire. I do not support an unconditional call for a ceasefire. I do not believe a majority of my constituents support an unconditional call for a ceasefire. It's my obligation to speak out when I think Canada has abandoned its traditional position at the UN in support of Israel at a time when Israel is at war," Housefather said.
He said Israel has been "singled out far too often at international organizations."
An "undemocratic mix of countries" at the UN have frequently "targeted and stigmatized" Israel and Canada should have held firm to its usual practice of voting against these sorts of resolutions, Housefather said. Canada was offside with Israel and the United States, he added.
Housefather avoided questions about whether he can stay in the Liberal caucus, saying now is not the time to discuss his future in the party he's called home since he was a teenager...
...Liberal MP Salma Zahid, who represents the Toronto-area riding of Scarborough Centre, a constituency with a large Muslim population, said she's "grateful" Canada voted in favour of a ceasefire.
"I hope that Canada will rally international support to protect innocent civilians being killed in Palestine, in Gaza," she said.
She said Canada's vote was necessary because the civilian death toll has grown to an unacceptable level.
The Hamas-run health authority suggests about 18,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, many of them civilians.
No mention of Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau's Finance, and former Foreign affairs minister, who's grandfather lived in a house in Krakow during world ward 2 that was confiscated from a Jew who was sent to the gas chambers. He was a propagandist news editor for the NAZI's.
Chrystia always referred to her grandfather as her main 'inspiration' for becoming a journalist and politician... Called on it when her grandfather was exposed as a former NAZI, she's never apologized and blames the factual truths about her grandfather's Nazi past as being Russian propaganda.
What did Pierre say?
Sure……because Israel is waiting to hear what Canada thinks….
18,000 meh...should be twice that if they were really serious.
I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THIS WAR BRINGS AN END TO THE UN....
THEY HAVE BEEN LYING ALL OVER THE PLACE WHILE SUPPORTING THE HAMAS TERRORISTS.
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