On Wednesday, 5 July, Samidoun Vancouver and friends took to the streets for a banner drop for Palestine in support of the people and the valiant resistance of Jenin, and to denounce the Canadian government’s complicity in and support for ongoing Zionist war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestine.
Participants in the action dropped banners over the busy Georgia Viaduct, seen by drivers below, SkyTrain riders and the many residents of high-rise buildings in the area, receiving many honks and visual expressions of support from drivers and passers-by.
In the early morning hours of 3 July, Zionist forces began invading and assaulting Jenin city and refugee camp with a massive military presence involving 1,000 soldiers and at least 150 armored Caterpillar bulldozers, armed drones, armored vehicles and aerial military equipment. The aim of these attacks is to target the growing Palestinian resistance with deep roots in Jenin, that has created a new reality on the ground in the northern West Bank of occupied Palestine that is no longer under the control of the Zionist occupation or the proxy Palestinian Authority.
The invasion of Jenin took the lives of 12 martyrs in the occupied city and refugee camp, but the occupation forces were never able to enter the center of the camp as the heroic resistance defended their people and pushed forward toward liberation. Once again, the occupation failed to achieve its objective and was defeated by the power of the resistance and its popular cradle in Jenin. They were unable to enter the center of the camp — and the resistance remains vigilant, defending their land and people and advancing towards liberation.
As Randa Musa, the widow of the martyr Khader Adnan – Palestinian prisoner who rose to martyrdom after 86 days of hunger strike – said: “Jenin camp has always been a flame of anger and uprising in the face of the occupation. This is why the occupier seeks to destroy this revolutionary arena…We are all proud of Jenin and its Brigade, which is an honorable model for all resistance fighters and confronts the enemy with full vigor & strength. Palestine is ours from the river to the sea despite the bloody invasion.”
This action in Vancouver comes to emphasize that the actions of the Canadian state are linked with those of the occupation regime, so long as it continues to provide military, diplomatic, economic and political support to Israel. In addition to demanding that Canada cut ties with the occupation, justice-seeking people in Canada are demanding that Scotiabank, one of Canada’s largest banks, immediately divest from Elbit Systems, the notorious Israeli weapons manufacturer of armed drones like the ones used to assassinate Palestinians and attack homes in Jenin. Scotiabank is the largest foreign investor in Elbit.
Samidoun Vancouver is organizing an evening for Palestine in honour of Ghassan Kanafani, the Palestinian revolutionary intellectual, writer and leader assassinated by the Mossad in 1972, on Saturday, 8 July 2023, the 51st anniversary of his assassination. The event will take place at 7 pm at Grandview Church at 1803 E 1st Ave in Vancouver, and all are welcome to attend.
To get involved with Samidoun Vancouver, contact us at vancouver@samidoun.net, on Instagram at @samidounvan or on Twitter at @samidounvan.
All photos credit: Michael Y.C. Tseng
