Brampton to denounce Gaza genocide with anti-Apartheid pledge

Brampton City Council is poised to take a pledge committing to “freedom, justice, and equality” for Palestinians and call for an end to the genocide in Gaza.

A motion from Brampton City Coun. Gurpartap Singh Toor and seconded by Coun. Navjit Kaur Brar going to council on Wednesday could lead to the city condemning “all illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and across Palestine.”

If passed, it would call on Canada Calls “to recognize and take immediate action to address the genocide and ethnic cleansing occurring in Gaza,” while demanding an end to “all military operations by Israel in Gaza and facilitating full, unfettered humanitarian aid access to the region.”

The motion would also see Brampton sign on to the Apartheid-Free Network’s Community Pledge, committing to “freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people,” and “join others in working to end all support to Israel’s Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.”

The group says it “is a coalition of communities who pledge to work together to end Israeli apartheid.”

Toor and Brar also say there need to be changes to the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) program, calling it “inadequate to support family reunification or meet humanitarian needs in Gaza.”

Hamas militants and affiliates attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 civilians and soldiers and taking roughly 240 people hostage. Israel responded by bombarding the Gaza Strip, killing more than 67,000 civilians and militants, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

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Last month, a United Nations Commission found Israel has committed genocide in Gaza – a report Israel’s ambassador to the UN Daniel Meron called a “fake.”

Earlier in October, Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan that would pause the fighting and see Hamas release 20 living hostages. Israel, meanwhile, would pull troops back to an agreed-upon line of roughly half the enclave, and release certain Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The motion also calls for “a full two‑way arms embargo between Canada and Israel,” including halting all arms exports to Israel and cancelling existing arms export permits.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand said in August that Canada has “refused any new permits for controlled goods that could be used in Gaza” since January 2024.

“We will not hesitate to ensure that those who violate this law face legal consequences that include fines, seizures and criminal prosecution,” Anad said in a statement. “In other words, we will not allow Canadian-made weapons to fuel this conflict in any way,” adding that “Canada continues to deny any export permits for materials that could be used in Gaza.”

Brampton-based military vehicle manufacturer Roshel Inc. drew criticism from pro-Palestinian activists last summer, when activists said they were trying to stop the export of more than 30 armoured vehicles to Israel that were to be used for domestic police operations.

– With files from The Canadian Press