Mona Abuamara, chief representative of the Palestinian General Delegation to Canada:

First of all, I deplore the loss of life, Palestinian and Israeli alike.

We are talking about symptoms. Everything that we’re seeing today or in the past few days, and in the past few months are symptoms of the root of the cause, which is occupation, apartheid.

Rosemary Barton, CBC chief political correspondent:

Are you concerned that the actions of Hamas are hurting Palestinians in their goals to have a peaceful life?

Abuamara:

The goal of the Palestinians has been to have a peaceful life for decades. The only way to have a resolution is to actually hold Israel accountable for what happened and to implement international law. So again, to talk about the root cause and not the symptoms is the way forward and how you fix it.

Barton:

But do you condone what Hamas has done over the past 24 hours?

Abuamara:

Listen, why is it the job of the occupied to come and condone or condemn or protect the security of its occupier?

You’re talking about 2 million people held hostage in the largest open-air prison, being bombed continuously for the past decade.

Barton:

I guess my point is Israel does have a right to defend itself and there are now more than 600 people dead.

Abuamara:

When you say Israel has the right to defend itself, and that has been going on for so long, even when atrocities have been happening to the Palestinians. Do Palestinians have the right to defend themselves, and why not?

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8 comments

Rosemary Barton might as well work in Israeli television or wear an IDF uniform while interviewing Palestinians.

Exactly. I don’t understand how she gets to be the ‘top journalist’ for CBC and is always chosen to be their star reporter. She is anti-Trudeau as well and reports accordingly. Not a good look overall for CBC.

Until Israel is held accountable for its continued apartheid of the Palestinian people, nothing will change.

The CBC is part of white Canada and its historic fictions have harmed Canadians for generations. It has always operated as a white supremacist publication in the service of government, instead of ethical journalism which serves the public. Time to defund the Supremacist CBC, it must go to launch an ethical Canada that supports indigenous people against brutal colonization by covetous states like Israel 2.0.

It’s disappointing that the CBC parrots the federal government’s lines on Israel’s right to defend itself. That’s never justification for Israel bombing and purposefully killing and wounding civilians, targeting hospitals and occupying Palestinian territories and engaging in what looks like ethnic cleansing. According to many human rights groups, Israel has committed war crimes and also apartheid under international law. Also blockading necessities like water, food, medicine and electricity is absolutely shameful. That’s state sponsored terrorism in my humble opinion.

Any person believing the “cold war” is done is existing with their head deeply buried in the middle eastern sand. The current state of Israel would not and should not even exist except for the lands annexed by allied governments post ww2.

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