Montreal, July 6, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on Canada to implement a series of concrete measures in response to Israel’s devastating and vindictive acts of collective punishment against the Jenin refugee camp earlier this week. Scenes from the camp following Israel’s violent invasion and siege suggest that Israel’s intent was to destroy the civilian public infrastructure of the camp on a colossal scale. CJPME warns that Israel’s withdrawal from the camp therefore does not signify the end of the crisis for residents, as a humanitarian catastrophe remains. CJPME notes that under the Rome Statute, “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly,” is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and thus amounts to a war crime. 

Montreal, July 3, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling for urgent international action to stop Israel’s ongoing assault on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, whose use of airstrikes represents a major escalation of Israeli violence. Since early this morning, Israeli airstrikes, snipers, and ground forces have killed at least 8 Palestinians, including civilians and 2 children, and injured more than 100. CJPME warns that the full scale of the devastation may not come to light until medical teams are finally given full access to the camp.

Montreal, May 20, 2022 - Below is a letter from CJPME to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly urging Canada to support an independent, international investigation into Israel's killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Click here to download a PDF of the letter.

Montreal, May 11, 2022  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) calls for an independent and international investigation into the killing of veteran Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head today by Israeli snipers while covering an Israeli raid in the Palestinian city of Jenin. Reports from journalists who were with Akleh on the ground said that they were deliberately targeted by Israeli snipers, despite wearing press vests and helmets, and Al Jazeera asserts that Akleh was “assassinated in cold blood.” CJPME urges Canada to refer this case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to respond to violence against journalists by suspending all military trade with Israel.