Fate of Canadians in Gaza in hands of Hamas: Kent
Hamas terrorists ultimately control the fate of several dozen Canadians and other civilians trapped in Gaza, the Harper government made clear Tuesday, as the civilian death toll rose when Israeli missiles struck a United Nations school.
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The Liberals criticized the Conservatives for being too slow to react to the plight of 39 Canadians now trapped in Gaza and who want help to leave.
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[Peter] Kent said the Canadians in Gaza would only be moved to safety if the rocket attacks "stop permanently." Asked whether that could trap them for days or months, Kent replied: "It is a war. It is a very fluid combat situation and these folks are caught in the middle of it. We've been given assurance that they will be moved only when it is safe for them to move."
There's no doubt about who controls the borders in Gaza and it isn't Hamas. To a great degree that's what the current conflict is about. But the party line is that Israel is blameless in all things and everything bad that's ever happened in the area is the fault of Hamas (even though that organization has only existed since 1987). So when the Canadian government is accused of being slow to react with regard to the fate of our citizens in Gaza the answer is obvious: even our own government's failings are the fault of Hamas.
Canada's Absentee Government™, ladies and gentlemen: passing the buck with the best of them.
Update:
With a h/t to Politics - for the people, the Toronto Star has more on those Canadians trapped in Gaza. This confirms that they could have gotten out on Friday along with citizens of other nations but:
But it was only on Friday that Canadian diplomats first provided the Israelis with a list of names of Canadians who wanted to leave the territory, and no attempt was made to contact them that day, to tell them to get to the border right away, because it was open.
I always figured Kent -- whom I quite like personally -- was the CanWest ambassador to Ottawa.
By refusing to allow Canadians to leave until Hamas stops rocket attacks, the Israelis are in effect holding them hostage... this should be obvious to even the most dim-witted and partisan individual. What the hell?
The conservatives are way too willing to abandon citizens of this country, especially ones in places the cons think they shouldn't be. They have abdictated the role that governments need to play, and I'm not even going to call them the government any more. They just want the power, without any of the responsibility that comes with it. We need to get the power away from these people.
Canada is fast losing any remaining vestige of international respect by continuing its US-Israel fan boy policy.