Canada, Stand up for Palestinian Children’s Rights
Life has become Unbearable for the Children of Gaza
The Canada Stand up for Palestinian Children’s Rights movement began in 2020 with a concern for the Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories specifically in the West Bank who were being arrested, interrogated and jailed by the Israeli military.
More recently our attention has turned to the ways in which life has become unbearable for the children of Gaza. Children in the West Bank are under increasing attack from Jewish settlers. And 12 Druze children in Majdal Shams village in the Occupied Golan Heights were killed in an airstrike.
What are Children in Gaza doing?
- Moving from place to place, many orphaned or without their families, as they seek a place of safety from Israeli bombing.
- Looking for food and water.
- Many are injured and receiving minimal medical treatment as hospitals have been destroyed. Due to Israel blockade, very few antibiotics and pain-killers are available.
- Sleeping with their shoes on in case they get bombed in the night.
- Living in tents or minimal shelters with scorching heat in summer and freezing cold in winter.
What can I do - one person?
United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine/Israel sees advocacy by individuals and communities of faith as a consequence of learning about the occupation and the lack of human rights for Palestinians.
We become advocates because the churches of Palestine have called on us to support them in their struggle for justice. Education leads to advocacy, which in turn leads to further education, and more advocacy. We speak for those who may not be able to speak for themselves in the search for justice, and amplify the voices of those who are calling for justice from Palestine and Israel.
- Share a story about children in Gaza or the West Bank with a couple of friends and ask if they would like to join you in trying to make change (it’s often easier with a small group)
- Support HaMoked financially. HaMoked is an Israeli group which provides legal aid to families in Gaza or the West Bank.
You are not alone.
Neither are anyone who cares.
Other Churches and people of faith are also taking action.
UNJPPI works with United Church of Canada General Council staff as well as with Quakers, Presbyterians, United Methodists in the U.S., the American United Church of Christ, Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, Independent Jewish Voices and with non-faith based groups such as Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.
Together we are stronger.
Do you know what WCNSF means?
WCNSF is a term medical personnel use, meaning: Wounded child no surviving family
Do you know that the Canadian government is supporting these actions by Israel that are harming the children of Gaza? Canada allows the export of military equipment to Israel. Under Canadian and international law this is illegal.
ACT NOW – PROTECT PALESTINIAN CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
We are inviting you to join our current campaign to advocate for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation. Sign up through this link https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7580
After signing you will receive an immediate email seeking confirmation of your signature.
This one small action magnified by hundreds of other people signing this e-petition urges the Canadian government to respect international law and to take real action to hold Israel to account for what they are doing to the children of Gaza. So please pass this information on to your friends and neighbours.
We are continuing the Canada, Stand Up for Palestinian Children’s Rights Campaign because we strongly believe that the Government’s response does not relate in a direct, knowledgeable, concerned way to what we know to be documented: daily, extreme abuses of the Palestinian children’s human rights. Neither was the remedy the petition proposed of a Special Envoy adequately addressed.
Thank you, on behalf of a broad based cross-Canada coalition working on behalf of Palestinian children’s human rights.
More about our original action
On July 6, 2020, Parliamentary Petition e-2667 was presented to Parliament. It called on the Government of Canada “to ensure the human rights of Palestinian children are protected by instructing a Special Envoy to promote, monitor and report on the human rights situation of Palestinian children living in the occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza”.
The Government’s response to our original Petition e-2667 was tabled in the House of Commons on January 25, 2021. You can see it together with the full Petition e-2667 on the House of Commons website at https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/petition/Details?Petition=e-2667
Israel is committing genocide in Gaza – U.N. Commission states
On June 18th, a UN commission issued a 94-page report detailing the human rights violations Israel is committing against Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The CBC, in a news report entitled Israel committed genocide in Gaza, deliberately targeted Palestinian children: UN report covered the commission’s report.
Related Organizations
HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual is an Israeli human rights organization with the main aim of assisting Palestinians of the occupied territories whose rights are violated due to Israel’s policies.
The Palestinian Center for Child Rights (PCCR) is an independent human rights organization established in 2025, to advance the fundamental rights of children across the occupied
Palestinian territory.