Statement in Solidarity with Palestine

Indigenous Climate Action stands in solidarity with our Palestinian relatives experiencing apartheid at the hands of a settler-colonial state, and the relentlessly violent and atrocious crimes against humanity imposed on innocent life. We stand with those who are grieving, or fear for their loved ones, and join in the call for peace and safety through an immediate ceasefire and the restoration of the necessary water, food, fuel, electricity, medical supplies, internet, and humanitarian aid.

What we are witnessing in real time is heartbreaking and has triggered the collective traumas of colonized peoples the world over. We must denounce ideals of settler-colonialism which have enabled conditions—75 years of Israeli settler-colonial dispossession, 56 years of military occupation, and 16 years of an open-air prison for 2.2 million people, half of whom are children—that allow this violence in the first place. We condemn all killing, indiscriminate attacks, civilian hostage taking as well as arbitrary detention of civilians, and denial of access to necessities for survival. It is deeply concerning to see the rise of Islamophobia and anti-semitism, and we want to be clear that we stand against hatred in all forms. 

As Indigenous peoples, we know that ALL life is sacred. We mourn the loss of all those who have died at the hands of this war, including the thousands of children and pray for those that survive to get the support they need to recover from this tragedy.  We also must not forget our relatives—the plant, animal, land and water kin—and the harm continuously inflicted on them and our Mother Earth, through war and increased militarism, extractivism and violent forms of colonization.

We recognize our Palestinian relatives as Indigenous Peoples with connections and rights to their ancestral land. Our struggles against settler colonialism are parallel, not because we or our struggles are the same but because settler-colonialism is pervasive and deeply ingrained in capitalism, its impacts intersecting our fight for liberation globally. Colonialism continues to wreak havoc on our lands and bodies, and impose ideas of individualism that we must continue to challenge. Colonized peoples have the right to defend themselves and to resist colonial violence. We support Palestinian liberation and their right as an oppressed people to resist colonialism and genocide. It is only through solidarity, holding our communities and leaders accountable, and fighting for justice that we can create meaningful action against climate change for future generations, Mother Earth and our collective liberation.

The bottom line is we cannot be silent or idle as we witness genocide unfold before our eyes. There can be no peace without justice, and no climate justice without human rights.

Demands

We join on the collective call to amplify the immediate demands of people in Gaza, as the bare minimum, which includes:

1. An immediate ceasefire to halt more state-sanctioned Palestinian death;

2. Safeguarding for human rights, and respect for international humanitarian law;

3. Call for an immediate end to the siege of Gaza by urgently allowing the free flow of water, food, fuel, electricity, medical supplies, internet, humanitarian aid and the prioritization of humanitarian assistance;

4. Immediate protection of medical facilities and reversing the illegal and inhumane evacuation orders for hospitals;

5. Facilitation of safe passage for casualties and critically ill individuals in need of medical treatment;

6. Dignified burials for the deceased;

7. The release of hostages;

8. The end of settler-colonial occupation in Palestine;

9. While the people of Gaza vehemently reject forced displacement, we insist on opening the crossings for those seeking to evacuate and permitting the entry of medical and rescue teams, along with their equipment; and

10. Upholding the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, and protect the lives of all civilians.

We call on the so-called Canadian government to:

1. Condemn all forms of violence, captures, massacres, human rights violations and international crimes; 

2. End to all foreign military aid to Israel; and

3. Work towards de-escalation of violence, and put pressure to prevent Israel’s potential ground offensive in Gaza to prevent any further loss of civilian lives.

Call to Action

We must take a firm stance against colonialism and renew our commitment to ending the brutal occupation of Palestine. We encourage our fellow relatives and allies to:

1. Uplift additional demands from Palestinian organizers, to commit to the Palestinian call to Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) Israel and all institutions complicit in Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism;

2. Issue solidarity statements and mutual aid for Palestine and organize mutual aid for Gaza; and

3. Demand freedom for political prisoners, and to support Land Back and the right of return for Palestinians.

Stop the genocide. End the siege. End the occupation. Dismantle apartheid. Decolonize Palestine.