By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Israel’s retaliation against Hamas and the subsequent killing of Palestinian civilians is jeopardizing chances for long-term peace in the region.
“Canada is extremely concerned about the number of civilian casualties in Gaza,” Trudeau told reporters at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the US as an Israel onslaught against the Gaza Strip entered day 43.
Since Israel started bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7, in response to an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, more than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 8,300 women and children, and more than 30,000 others have been injured, according to the latest figures.
Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.
An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a small trickle.
The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.
Canada backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Both because the loss of life is heartbreaking to see, but also because the pathway toward a secure, viable, independent Jewish state alongside a secure, viable independent Palestinian state is getting more difficult with all the hardship that Palestinians are going through,” said Trudeau.
He criticized “Canadians lashing out in anger” amid intense emotions stirred by the war.
“Whether it’s a woman in a hijab getting spat on, or a Jewish kid going to a college campus (who) is not feeling safe, or gunshots fired at Jewish schools, or a terrifying rise in Islamophobia alongside the significant rise and very troublesome rise in antisemitism … we are not a country where Canadians should be scared of other Canadians,” he said.
Earlier this week, a Vancouver restaurant where Trudeau was dining was surrounded by 250 pro-Palestinian protesters and 100 police were sent to safely extricate him from the building.
There was also the case of a pro-Palestinian protester in Calgary, Alberta who repeatedly chanted: “From the river to the sea, Palestinians will be free.”
He was arrested and charged with causing a hate-motivated disturbance. But the charges were stayed Friday -- in effect, dropped – because the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service said they had no substance.
But the Calgary incident did serve to show Canadians are on edge.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said the laying of the charge was inexplicable.
“We remain greatly concerned about why the charges were filed in the first place by Calgary Police,” it said in a statement.