In a show of solidarity, a Sault-based climate action group has welcomed pro-Palestinian activists into its regular Friday rallies, amplifying calls for an end to the war in Gaza
A local climate action group has invited pro-Palestinian protesters to join its weekly rallies outside the office of Sault Ste. Marie’s member of parliament.
For years, Clean North has been the local organizer for global “Fridays for Future” climate rallies to raise awareness of climate change and to press for change from decision makers.
More recently, the organization has invited supporters of SSM4Palestine, a Sault Ste. Marie-based group seeking an end to the war in Gaza.
On Friday, about 20 protesters from both groups stood outside MP Terry Sheehan’s office, rattling pots and pans to draw attention to what they describe as a genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Israel with support from the Canadian government.
SSM4Palestine is asking the Canadian government to place an embargo against arms sales to Israel, said organizer Alya Husseini.
“It’s an awful thing that our government has been supporting for a long time and is continuing to support,” Husseini said to reporters in front of Sheehan’s office during the protest.
Husseini said her own father was forced to leave Palestine in the late 1960s.
“My dad was not able to go back home after that, even though he was born in Jerusalem,” she said.
Israel and Palestine have long been at conflict. The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched coordinated armed incursions into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Husseini claimed Israel’s response that has led to death and starvation amounts to genocide.
“What’s happening in Gaza is just completely unacceptable to almost everybody in the world,” she said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Israel’s announced plan to take over part of the Gaza Strip will further a humanitarian crisis for Palestinians and hostages.
Israel’s cabinet approved a plan this week to take control of Gaza City, with the country’s foreign ministry saying it does not want to take over the Palestinian territory but instead rout Hamas.
The United Nations has called the move a dangerous escalation, as it would likely require a large ground invasion and displacing tens of thousands of civilians.
— with files from The Canadian Press