Trudeau accused of complicity in Gaza genocide by medical workers
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Ben Thomson, a public health, nephrology, and general internal medicine doctor, says the Canadian government has failed to hold "Israel" accountable.
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Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to a question during Question Period in Ottawa on October 23, 2024. (AP)
A group of Canadian healthcare professionals accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration of complicity in "Israel's" genocide in Gaza through inactivity.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has killed 44,282 Palestinians and injured 104,880 others, the ministry confirmed Wednesday in its daily report.
"One year ago, we demanded the Government of Canada publicly demand for a cease-fire, that the Canadian government publicly condemn Israel for targeting hospitals and health-care workers, and that the Government of Canada publicly condemn Israel for widespread violations of international humanitarian law, including the crime of genocide," Ben Thomson, a public health, nephrology, and general internal medicine doctor, said at a news conference Tuesday on Parliament.
Thomson, who was most recently in Gaza in September 2023 and March 2024, said the Trudeau government rejected their demands and denied a follow-up meeting about them.
He described how the Canadian government's complicity and failure to hold "Israel" accountable resulted in tens of thousands of dead Palestinian women and children, reiterating that the occupation murdered 18,000 children in the least.
Thomson referred to the ongoing Gaza war as "genocide" and urged Canadian media to "stop censoring this word" and not be "shy" about saying it.
Canadian health workers returning from Gaza call out the Canadian government for its 'complicity' in the genocide in Gaza.
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) November 26, 2024
"Israel has killed over 18,000 children. Every university destroyed. Most hospitals destroyed... We unanimously agree: Israel is committing genocide. " pic.twitter.com/L0Iect3wLQ
He criticized the Canadian government's "inaction" on the Gaza slaughter, calling on officials to do their jobs and end the atrocity.
"Justin Trudeau and (Foreign Minister) Melanie Joly chose to listen to the Israel lobby groups," indicated Thomson.
Describing these groups as "foreign interference", he pointed to their opposition to ceasefires and their denial of Israeli war crimes as well as international court rulings.
He urged Trudeau and Joly to"take their responsibility seriously" in ending the genocide in Gaza, accusing them of enabling Israeli actions in Gaza.
Dr. Yipeng Ge, a primary care physician and public health practitioner, stated that a grassroots network of Canadian medical workers known as EyeWitnessGaza was founded "to share eyewitness testimony in hopes this would help end the genocide."
"We wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Jolie as a group of 19 health care workers who have served in Gaza this past year," said Ge, who visited the Strip in February 2024.
He called it "beyond shameful" that no response was received for almost four months.
In early August, a group of 19 Canadian physicians sent an open letter to the Canadian government, asking for quick action to address the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.
The letter requested compliance with international humanitarian law and the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) verdicts on Gaza.
