 
Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper
The need to end the international financial
boycott of the Palestinian Authority.
April 18, 2007
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Langevin Block
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1V 0A2
April 18, 2007
Re: The need to end the international financial boycott of the
Palestinian Authority.
Dear Prime Minister:
Canadian Churches have always had partnerships in the Middle East.
In particular, KAIROS and its predecessor ecumenical coalitions
have strong relationships with partners in Gaza, the West Bank and
Israel. Our partnerships are with Christians, Muslims and Jews who
work for peace and human rights and non-violent resolutions to the
conflict in the region. It is that context that we write at the
request of leaders of the Churches of Jerusalem. In their Easter
message they requested that churches around the world petition their
respective governments to end the international financial boycott
of the Palestinian Authority.
There are at least three reasons for doing so. The first lies in
the enormous suffering that the Palestinian people have had to endure
in recent years, in part because of the boycott. A second relates
to the new unity government in the Palestinian Authority, which
offers hope for a commencement of meaningful negotiations for a
just peace. The third comes from the recent summit of Arab nations
where they agreed to recognize Israel if it withdrew from all the
territory it captured in 1967 and cooperated in a just resolution
of the refugee issue.
For Canada to now end its own financial boycott of the Palestinian
Authority would be very helpful. If Canada also called on other
countries to do so and, in addition, sought to mobilize international
support for the new peace initiatives, it could contribute to major
renewal of energy and hope for a just and peaceful future for all
the peoples of the region.
Specifically, we call on the Canadian government to:
- End its financial embargo of the Palestinian Authority and
restore aid financing, including an immediate donation of the
moneys suspended in the last year.
- Call the government of Israel and Palestinian militant groups
to an immediate ceasefire.
- Call on all parties of the new Unity government of the Palestinian
Authority to recognize the State of Israel on its pre-1967 borders
in accordance with the offer of the Arab League’s March
29th, 2007 peace plan.
- Call on all parties to commence meaningful negotiations on all
outstanding issues according to the principles of international
law.
- Call on the government of Israel to immediately release the
tax dollars belonging to the Palestinian Authority, which it has
suspended after the last Palestinian election.
- Normalize relationships with the Palestinian Authority including
its new Unity government and call on Israel to do likewise.
The circumstances of the stakeholders in the Middle East have changed
in the past few months. There is now a window of opportunity for
peace. We believe that Canada could make a major contribution towards
a just peace for all the peoples of the region.
Thank you for considering these recommendations. We look forward
to your response.
Sincerely,
Mary Corkery
Executive Director
c.c.
The Honourable Peter MacKay
Minster of Foreign Affairs
The Honourable Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh
Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic
The Honourable Francine Lalonde
Bloc Quebecois Foreign Affairs Critic
The Honourable Alexa McDonough
NDP Foreign Affairs Critic
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