We are devastated to witness the renewed escalation of violence in Palestine following Israel’s violation of the ceasefire agreement. We are horrified to see the mounting number of civilian casualties and destruction of homes, hospitals and communities. For more than 530 days, Israel has killed, injured and displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians — including countless children.

Even during the so-called ceasefire period from late January to late March, Israel continued to block access to food, medicine and aid, and cut off electricity to Palestinians. Many of these violations — especially the renewed bombing of Gaza — have occurred during Ramadan, a holy month for many Palestinians.

The Wilderness Committee believes the struggle for climate and environmental justice requires the right of all people to sovereignty and safety, and are therefore inseparable from decolonization and anti-imperialism. Within our work, we strive to fight systems of colonialism and imperialism — rooted in extraction and exploitation — that fuel the climate and biodiversity crises, and atrocities like the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

We call on all governments to withdraw support for Israel’s attacks in Gaza and the West Bank, and demand the immediate free flow of food, water, medicine, electricity and humanitarian aid into Gaza. We call on them to demand an end to the occupation of Palestine.

Finally, we renew our call to the Government of Canada to put in place a full two-way arms embargo on Israel and advocate for a permanent peace that addresses the root cause of the violence — the occupation of Palestinian territories.⁠