Israel is not at war with the Palestinians rather it is warring with Hamas: Israeli Consul General

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There can be no peace between Israel and the Palestinians because of Israel's unrelenting occupation of the Gaza Strip that has impoverished its inhabitants.

So suggested Jake Javanshir, a Toronto-based Israeli activist, during a Jan. 9 public event hosted by the Social Justice Committee of the Bloor Street United Church (300 Bloor St. W). Javanshir visited Gaza in 2008. To put the Palestinians' living conditions under Israeli occupation into perspective, he said Gaza was about half the size of Toronto, populated by an estimated 1.5 million people, and surrounded by walls and soldiers that prevent anyone from entering or leaving the region.

"One million of those people are refugees that were driven there by brute force and by the Israeli government," he said. "The dream of the original Zionists is to take the West Bank and everything else . . . of course all we hear in the media is 'Hamas throws a rocket, Israel has the right to defend itself'. What has Israel to defend itself from? Is it for taking the land in the West Bank? Is it for destroying (the Palestinians') livelihood?"

Javanshir's comments recalled opinions expressed by a British physician who had visited the West Bank in 2007 and shared his insights and photographs of the journey during a University of Toronto discussion on the subject last May.

As reported by The Guardian, Dr. Asad Kahn told a U of T audience poverty and violence are rife in occupied Palestine and Palestinian homes are regularly demolished by the Israeli army.

"It is impossible to have peace without justice; justice means for the Israeli occupation to end," said Rafeef Ziadah, spokesperson for Palestine House in Toronto. "Israel claims that it is disengaged from Gaza but it still controls the airspace and the borders . . . for the past 18 months there's been a siege imposed on the people of Gaza and no food, water, or electricity was allowed to get in."

Consul General Amir Gissin at the Consulate General of Israel in Toronto said the situation in Gaza remains the same as it was three weeks ago: Israel is at complete readiness to put an end to the current hostilities and forge a ceasefire.

"Hamas [must] stop firing rockets at our citizens and commit to a long-term ceasefire," he said. "[Hamas is taking] outside orders from Iran and Iran is putting much pressure on Hamas to keep firing and to maintain instability in our region."

Last week, eight Jewish women occupied the Israeli consulate, demanding Israel withdraw from Gaza and for the Government of Canada to give Israel a diplomatic scolding. The RCMP removed the women from the building and as of last week, no charges had been laid.

It was a brave gesture, Ziadah acknowledged, adding much of the public support for the Palestinians is coming from the local Jewish community.

"We've had many Jewish supporters come out and say Israel does not speak in their name," she said. "As a matter of fact, more Jewish people have been involved in the pro-Palestine rallies than the pro-Israel rallies and that really does say something about how the state of Israel is acting."

On Jan. 10, an estimated 10,000 pro-peace and pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Israeli consulate at 180 Bloor Street West to protest Israel's military crackdown in the Gaza Strip. Palestine House was one of several organizations involved in the protest for which Ziadah was the emcee.

"Our message wasn't for the people working inside the Israeli consulate, it was for the Canadian government," she said. "The (Stephen) Harper government has come out with unconditional support for Israel even though it violates international law.

"It's gotten to the point that Israel could probably bomb Hamilton and the Harper government would say 'it was for Israel's self-defense'."

Recent Israeli attacks have killed over 770 Palestinians, including Palestinian children, and injured over 3,100, mostly civilians. Many of the injured have been maimed for life, said the Canadian Arab Federation.

"These are crimes against humanity and the Canadian government must act to stop them," said Khaled Mouammar, president of the CAF, in a statement.

Though he would not comment on any public demonstration, Gissin did confess gauging the general public's reaction in Toronto to the situation in Gaza is hard to do.

"The Canadian media has looked at this crisis in a balanced way . . . same goes for Canadian politicians from all sides that actually see who's really responsible for what's happening right now. Regarding the public it's hard to tell. Whenever there's aggression anywhere in the world, the average Canadian has a high dislike for that and I appreciate that, it's the same as in every democracy," he said. "We are trying to convey the message at this time the hostility is an attempt to safeguard our citizens. In that sense, it's not just another conflict. It's an attempt to let people live their lives in peace and quiet."

Gissin added Israel is not at war with the Palestinians rather it is warring with Hamas, a terrorist organization, controlled by Iran.

"The problem we have right now is . . . hostilities between Israel and the long arm of Iran," he said. "Peace can be achieved in the Middle East. All we have to do is be very clear about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys."