Canadian Oligarchy Supports West Bank Ethnic Cleansing

 

A devastating invasion by Israel—with the help of the Palestinian Authority (PA)—has displaced over 40,000 Palestinians in the West Bank from their homes and livelihoods. The invasion was launched as soon as the ceasefire in Gaza began. Canada's government and Canadian companies are deeply involved in the ethnic cleansing campaign entitled "Operation Iron Wall."

Canada's support for Israel in the form of arms manufacturing and investments through pension funds, big banks, and universities has been well exposed over the last few years. What is less known, however, is Canada's role in the ongoing settlement in the West Bank through its support for the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF). The PASF is seen by many Palestinians as a proxy/subcontractor for Israel and its allies in the West Bank.

The joint PA-IDF invasion has focused on centres of resistance in the refugee camps and cities of Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and Tubas. 

Marked by the shocking return of IDF tanks to the northern West Bank for the first time since the Battle of Jenin in 2002, the invasion has the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing campaign. It has included the annexation of land for additional illegal settlements and escalating pogroms against Palestinians by armed settler mobs protected by the military. The IDF has reportedly destroyed over 120 homes and killed more than 27 people during its 30-plus-day siege of the Jenin refugee camp, including a pregnant woman and a two-year-old.

Sixteen Palestinian children have been killed since the beginning of the campaign, half of them in airstrikes by an Israeli Air Force that is reliant on parts and maintenance from Canadian arms manufacturers such as Gastops, Asco Aerospace, Magellan, and Héroux-Devtek. 

Many of the largest pension funds in Canada have billions invested in the weapons companies producing armaments being used by the IDF in this invasion. These include the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund (CDPQ). Canada's elite universities have invested millions in many of the same arms manufacturers and in companies operating illegally on occupied Palestinian territory.  (more...)

Canadian Oligarchy Supports West Bank Ethnic Cleansing