{"id":671,"date":"2023-11-24T22:48:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T22:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/?p=671"},"modified":"2023-11-24T22:48:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-24T22:48:16","slug":"a-pause-is-not-enough-palestinian-groups-to-gather-in-ottawa-to-demand-gaza-ceasefire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/2023\/11\/24\/a-pause-is-not-enough-palestinian-groups-to-gather-in-ottawa-to-demand-gaza-ceasefire\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A pause is not enough\u2019: Palestinian groups to gather in Ottawa to demand Gaza ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Palestinian rights groups are converging on Parliament Hill in Ottawa this weekend to demand a ceasefire in the seven-week Israel-Hamas war, as well as an end to the ongoing siege of Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palestinian Youth Movement is crowdfunding costs to help bring people from as far away as Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Mississauga, Toronto, as well as Quebec City and Montreal, to participate in the 1 p.m. demonstration on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are traveling from all across Canada to demand an immediate lifting of Israel\u2019s 17-year long siege on Gaza,\u201d said Palestinian Youth Movement spokesperson Yara Shoufani in a text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A demonstrator donning a Palestinian Keffiyeh and flag. The black and white Keffiyeh has been accepted as a symbol of Palestinian nationhood since the 1960s. [Photo courtesy of Hannah Marie]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA \u2018pause\u2019 is not enough,\u201d she added, referring to the temporary break in fighting that came into effect on Friday. \u201cThousands of Palestinians have been killed, Gaza\u2019s infrastructure destroyed, and 12,000 Palestinian prisoners are held as hostages in Israeli prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct. 7 marked one of the bloodiest days in Israel\u2019s history with 1,200 Israelis killed and more than 200 taken hostage by Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ensuing weeks, authorities in Gaza say more than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the United Nations has reported that more than 1.6 million people have been displaced due to the conflict and thousands of others remain trapped under rubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On average in Gaza, a child is killed and two more are injured every ten minutes during this conflict, according to the UN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, the Red Cross is facilitating the release of hostages held by Hamas and Israel. Despite the current pause in fighting, people across Canada have been preparing for a national march in solidarity with Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jo El-Dik, who is half-Palestinian, half-German, is travelling from Kitchener-Waterloo with the Palestinian Youth Movement for tomorrow\u2019s demonstration. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to have a large amount of people in Canada\u2019s capital,\u201d the 21-year-old said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A young child at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Kitchener-Waterloo. [Photo courtesy of Hannah Marie]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

El-Dik said being part of a large demonstration is \u201cgood for the soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt resonates more and you can feel the impact,\u201d they said. \u201cWhen you are cold, tired and exhausted, being a part of a large crowd helps you keep up your energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Hamas\u2019 attacks on Oct. 7, El-Dik said they faced a new reckoning with their Palestinian identity and family history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything I can do from where I am now is what I have to do,\u201d El-Dik said. \u201cIf everyone felt that way and used their feelings in this way, we could make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El-Dik and others travelling to Ottawa spent part of Friday making posters and signs in preparation for Saturday\u2019s march. When asked why it was important to get involved, El-Dik said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really feel like a choice, rather something I have to do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement sent by email to The Capital Chill, Ottawa police said they are \u201cworking closely with our police partners and the City of Ottawa and have the necessary resources in place\u201d for Saturday\u2019s march. Police advised the public to monitor its social media feeds to learn more about traffic disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jo El-Dik\u2019s sign they made for the protest. They said that it\u2019s important to use your voice to speak out against injustice when so many others can\u2019t. [Photo courtesy of Jo El-Dik]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Palestinian rights groups are converging on Parliament Hill in Ottawa this weekend to demand a ceasefire in the seven-week Israel-Hamas war, as well as an end to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"One protestor's sign held during a rally in Kitchener-Waterloo. Across Canada, people are speaking up about the Israel and Hamas conflict. [Photo courtesy of Hannah Marie]\n\n","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[95,98,89,88,90,97,85,93,86,54,84,92,96,91,87,94],"class_list":["post-671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bus","tag-ceasefire","tag-conflict","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-humanitarian-pause","tag-israel","tag-kitcherner-waterloo","tag-national-march","tag-ottawa","tag-palestine","tag-palestinian-youth-movement","tag-pause","tag-pym","tag-siege","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":737,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671\/revisions\/737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/capitalchill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}