TORONTO - The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) has expressed alarm at the on-going Israeli attacks on Gaza and has asked the international community to intervene and bring about an immediate ceasefire. In a statement, the MCC condemned the disproportionate response by the IDF to the rocket attacks by Hamas, leading to hundreds of casualties.
The MCC statement also condemned Hamas for treating the Palestinian people as human-bait in a ploy to provoke Israel into launching an all-out attack on Gaza. In censuring Hamas, the MCC said, the Islamist group had deliberately put the civilian population of Gaza in danger as it played the role of Iran's agent provocateur in the region.
The MCC believes Hamas deliberately rocketed Israel in an attempt to provoke an Israeli response. The fact that Hamas did not fire a single rocket at Egypt, despite that country's blockade of Gaza, clearly demonstrates the attacks on Israel were not to protest the blockade, but to trigger a military response.
Instead of working towards a two-state solution and the creation of a Palestinian State, Hamas has done everything in its power to undermine the authority of President Mahmoud Abbas and sabotage the peace process. No other national liberation movement in modern history has offered martyrdom as a substitute to freedom and statehood. Hamas has set back the clock for the Palestinians and it is time for all Palestinians to recognize that Hamas offers only death, destruction and a place in Paradise, not a Palestinian State.
The MCC urges the Palestinian people to take the road of non-violence and civil disobedience to achieve Palestinian Statehood and an end to Israeli occupation. The path to sovereignty and nationhood can be accomplished by walking in the steps of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. King, not Syed Qutb and Osama Bin Laden.
Notwithstanding the follies of Hamas, the MCC feels Israel's bombings are inexcusable and condemns the continuing Israeli attacks on Gaza. The MCC demands Israel end its incursion and lift the economic blockade of the territory, which has turned Gaza into one large human cage.
The MCC offers its deepest condolences to the families of the dead and prays for the speedy recovery of the wounded.
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