Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2005 6:22 PM
Subject: Re: A10581-2005 IN REPLY TO YOUR E-MAIL OF MARCH 24,
2005
Canada Palestine Association,
P.O.Box 1085,
Halifax, NS, B3J 2X1.
August 7, 2005
The Hon. Mr. Pierre Pettigrew,
Minister of External Affairs,
Ottawa.
Dear Mr. Pettigrew:
Thank you for your letter responding to my earlier
message.
I applaud your stand, on behalf of our government
and our people, stating clearly that Canada considers the Israeli occupation, of
the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights,
is subject to international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and UN
resolutions. This brutal illegal occupation has been allowed to stand for
38 years in defiance of international law and repeated Security Council
resolutions.All the Jewish settlements in these occupied
territories are illegal, as clearly stated in the Fourth Geneva
Convention and Security Council resolution and must be
dismantled. Surely, Canada and the international community should be
calling for immediate unconditional Israeli withdrawal from these illegally
occupied territories.
We recall the illegal Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in
1990. There was no requirement that the Kuwaiti people were required to
negotiate with Iraq about any conditions of withdrawal. When this withdrawal was
not effected within weeks, nearly a million troops were dispatched to terminate
this occupation. Similarly this Israeli occupation must be completely terminated
unconditionally. We are not calling for military action but mere diplomatic
pressure to inforce international law. Sharon's Disengagement Plan from Gaza and
few outposts in the West Bank should be a step towards complete termination of
this occupation. However, all observers in the area observe that Sharon is
expanding the illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and shows
no inclination to bring an end to this illegal occupation..
I fully agree with you that the killing of
civilians, be they Palestinians or Israelis, is abhorent and must be
condemned.
Thank you again for your response and your stand
against this occupation and in support for justice and peace for all the people
in the Middle East.
Yours sincerely,
Ismail Zayid, MD.
President, Canada Palestine
Association.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 3:23 PM
Subject: A10581-2005 IN REPLY TO YOUR E-MAIL OF
MARCH 24, 2005
Dr. Ismail Zayid
President
Canada Palestine
Association
izayid@eastlink.ca
Dear Dr.
Zayid:
Thank you for your e-mail of March 24, 2005, and for your words
in
support of my statement of March 23, 2005, concerning the Government
of
Israel's plan to build several thousand additional housing units in
the
West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. I regret the delay in
replying
to you.
Successive Canadian governments have very clearly
stated, on numerous
occasions, that international human rights and
humanitarian law,
including the Fourth Geneva Convention, do apply to the
territories
occupied by Israel since June 1967, including the Golan Heights,
the
Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We recognize
these
territories as being subject to occupation, as that term is used
under
international law, and we have joined other nations in calling on
Israel
to withdraw. Attacks against Israeli civilians, including
terrorist
attacks, are also a violation of international humanitarian
law.
All United Nations members are bound to respect resolutions
and
decisions adopted by the organization. United Nations
resolutions
relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict, in particular United
Nations
Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and 1515, provide the
basis
for a comprehensive agreement as envisioned in the Quartet's Road
Map
for peace.
Canada is encouraged by the leadership demonstrated by
Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas
and the courageous political steps they have taken
together. A new
constructive era in the relationships between the
parties, which have
renewed political dialogue, marks a turning point in the
political
process. We welcome the renewed security cooperation between
the
parties, which has led to a decreased level of violence. We
also
welcome the declaration made on February 8, 2005, by both leaders at
the
Sharm el-Sheikh Summit, on bringing an end to four years of
hostilities
that have claimed the lives of many innocent
victims.
During my visit to the region from February 6 to 12, 2005,
I expressed
to both Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas Canada's
support for a
coordinated withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the
northern
West Bank. I also called for a resumption of Road Map
implementation,
leading back to negotiations and to realizing the vision of
two states:
Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace
and
security.
Furthermore, the visit to Canada of President
Abbas on May 27, 2005,
presented another opportunity to demonstrate Canada's
support for the
Middle East Peace Process and for Palestinian Authority
capacity
building. The Right Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister,
commended
President Abbas for his efforts to curb terrorism. He also
announced an
additional $12 million in assistance, which will be devoted to
housing,
judicial training and reform, scholarships for refugee women
and
election monitoring during the legislative elections. In
addition,
Prime Minister Martin underscored the incompatibility between
terrorism
and democracy. He reiterated to President Abbas Canada's
support for
the Road Map and the importance for both parties to implement
their Road
Map obligations as well as to accelerate efforts towards
peace.
Maintaining momentum will require a concerted and sustained effort
by
all parties. I believe there are many areas open to Canadian
expertise
and assistance in the fields of governance, security and
economic
development. We are working closely, along with the
international
community, to support the parties' efforts as best we
can.
Thank you again for
writing.
Sincerely,
Pierre S. Pettigrew