SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Mar/18/24 2:14:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I will read into the record what legal expert Dr. Ardi Imseis said about the legal framework for Palestinian statehood. He stated, “Palestine is recognized by 140 states. “Palestine is a juridical fact. Its territory is under illegal foreign military occupation by Israel, but that does not mean that the State of Palestine does not exist in law. “It possesses all four of the criterion for statehood as codified in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States: (1) a permanent population; (2) a territory; (3) a government; and (4) the capacity to enter into foreign relations with other states. “Successive Israeli governments have, for years, indicated that they will never allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and that only the Jewish people have a right to self-determination in the land between the river and the sea. “This is unlawful. “As a peremptory norm, no people's right to self-determination in their own territory can be the subject of negotiation under international law. This is the last chance Canada has to save the two state framework set in motion by the UN in 1947.” Where will the Liberal government stand today on Palestine's statehood?

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Mar/18/24 2:48:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the starvation of civilians during war is absolutely prohibited under article 54 of the Geneva Conventions. A UN food agency just reported that due to the Israeli siege on Gaza, 1.1 million Palestinians are facing catastrophic hunger. The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, stated that Israel is provoking famine in Gaza and using starvation as a weapon of war. Did the foreign affairs minister, at any point during her high-level meetings with the two Israeli cabinet ministers named in the ICJ proceedings, raise the plight of starving Palestinians in Gaza forced into famine by Israel?

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Mar/18/24 4:54:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, prior to his time as a parliamentarian, the hon. leader of the NDP was a lawyer. He has spoken about the preconditions for peace, and everybody would know that the most important precondition for peace is justice. Could the hon. member perhaps reflect on the importance of all nations' having accountability under international law, particularly as it relates to the International Court of Justice, and what Canada's role is in ensuring that those international norms are upheld, not just for Palestinians and the question of Palestine, but also internationally in all conflicts?

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Mar/18/24 5:10:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I referenced earlier that the 54th article of the Geneva Convention prevents starvation. It is a war crime. It is a crime against humanity. I know the hon. member has been following this closely and would have heard the horrific reports of children and families being forced to eat grass and of the starvation by the Israeli siege on the people in Rafah and throughout Gaza. I would like the hon. member to talk a bit about how, in this moment, with an impending invasion of Rafah, with the humanitarian crisis and with the lineup of trucks being held at the border of Rafah, that continues to constitute war crimes against the Palestinian people.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Mar/18/24 5:36:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise just to congratulate the hon. member for her courage. I had the privilege and honour of travelling with her to the West Bank, and I know that the sacrifice she has made by standing up for the basic dignity and human rights of Palestinians comes at a political cost. My question for the hon. member reflects on our time in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jenin. Reflecting on the trip that we took to actually bear witness to the atrocities that are also being committed in the West Bank, could the hon. member perhaps share her thoughts on why ending the occupation is one of the preconditions for any kind of just and lasting peace, without which there remains a real impediment to any prospect of any kind of resolution in the area.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Mar/18/24 7:06:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been lots of conversations in the House around trying to find balance. In fact, the Conservatives' position has somehow been to try to make this whole thing, all of the atrocities, all of the murders and all of the deaths, to be solely Hamas's fault. In asking for balance, not once have they acknowledged that Hamas does not own F-16 fighter jets. Hamas does not own 2,000-pound bombs that have been dropped on civilian populations. Hamas did not force people from the north to the south and then threaten to invade Rafah. Hamas did not bomb schools and hospitals. In finding balance and seeking balance with some of the ridiculous assertions from the Conservative caucus, could the hon. member please reflect on what the imbalance of power and the asymmetry of power and military might looks like in that region and what the legacy of settler colonialism looks like here in this country?

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