*BREAK THE SILENCE: END THE SIEGE* demonstrate in solidarity with Gaza

On 19 September 2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip "a hostile entity" and stepped up its collective punishment. A crime is being perpetrated against civilians in Gaza which violates international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. Join the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) and demonstrate against the siege of Gaza and in support of the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

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When: Saturday, February 9th as part of the 4th annual Israeli Apartheid Week
Time: 2pm
Where: The Israeli Consulate - 180 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON.  We
will be marching east along Bloor and south on Yonge up to Dundas Square
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The UN (OCHA Special Focus December 07) stated: "Palestinians are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Food imports cover only 41% of demand. 80% of Gazans receive food aid and 80% live below the poverty line. People who are seriously ill are being prevented from accessing essential medical treatment outside Gaza.  Over 40 Gazans have died as a result of being denied medical treatment by the Israeli authorities and 20% of essential drugs and 31% of essential medical supplies are no longer available inside Gaza.  Israel is cutting fuel and electricity supplies, affecting essential health and water facilities.  210,000 people are able to access drinking water for only 1-2 hours a day."

At the same time, the Israeli army continues its attacks on the imprisoned Palestinian people of Gaza, demolishing homes, factories and agricultural land and carrying out arrests.  Fatal bombing raids continue, killing Palestinian men, women and children. The Israeli, EU, US and British governments hope to overturn the results of the last Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006, declared free and fair by the international community.  This siege is punishing Palestinians for simply exercising their democratic right to choose their own representatives.

But an even greater assault is on the horizon, with senior Israeli figures making clear that if their policy of imposing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza does not succeed in forcing the Palestinians to submit to the will of the state of Israel, they are preparing for massive military action inside Gaza.

Meanwhile, the attack on Palestinian students, faculty and academic institutions has continued with many being subjected to arbitrary “interviewing,” long delays at military checkpoints, and in many cases administrative detention. At Birzeit University alone, 99 students and faculty are currently incarcerated, while at Al Quds University close to a tenth of students have at one time or another been held in Israeli jails.

Yet aside from the threat of arrest, Palestinian institutions and students have had to also contend with an economic blockade and tightening restrictions on their movement. In Gaza, “722 Palestinian university students studying abroad have been trapped” since the closing of the Rafah crossing in June 2007, unable to attend not only foreign universities but also universities in the West Bank. The Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, meanwhile, notes how 80% of the population report significant “difficulty in going about their daily lives, including getting to school or university.”

Come out and demonstrate against the Siege on Gaza and in Support of an Academic Boycott – we must break the silence!