GC45 COM06 Emergency Resolution on Gaza for Summer 2025

Origin: Tina Conlon

1. What is the issue? Why is it important?

The situation in Gaza has reached a catastrophic level. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly announced the intention to ethnically cleanse Gaza—a statement that confirms and accelerates what many Palestinian voices have been warning for decades. This comes alongside the weaponization of humanitarian aid, the deliberate starvation of civilians, and the destruction of essential infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, water systems, and homes.

This is not only a humanitarian crisis—it is a moral crisis. As people of faith, committed to following Jesus in the way of justice, compassion, and reconciliation, we cannot be silent in the face of ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, and the mass suffering of an entire people. The cries from Gaza are a call to our conscience and to our commitment to live out the Gospel in action.

2. What is happening now?

Palestinians in Gaza are facing human-created famine, forced displacement, and relentless bombardment. Families have been uprooted multiple times with nowhere safe to go. Food, water, and medical supplies are being systematically withheld. Entire neighbourhoods lie in rubble. This is not the aftermath of a conflict—it is the ongoing reality of a people under siege.

Globally, human rights experts, church leaders, and international legal bodies are naming that these acts constitute grave breaches of international law amounting to genocide. The window to act in the interest of peace and human dignity is closing rapidly.

Currently, the Israeli government has announced their intention to permanently dispossess, at best, and annihilate, at worst, Palestinians from Gaza. 

3. What is the recommendation?

That the General Council of The United Church of Canada:

1. Denounce the planned erasure of Gaza City which immediately impacts the lives of more than 1 million people.
2. Join international entities, bodies and experts in calling what is happening in Gaza what it is: a genocide which is a crime against humanity and God
3. Call on the Government of Canada to take immediate actions to hold the Israeli government accountable to the escalating violations of international laws by applying sanctions and joining the International Court of Justice case against Israel initiated by South Africa.
4. Declare a time of fasting, prayer and protest where congregations and individuals during their fast contact their MPs and decision makers to demand accountability to item 3

4. Background information:

Recent reports from human rights organizations, including Israeli groups like B'Tselem and international bodies (Amnesty International, Fransesca Albanese Report, UNCHR) , have documented systematic actions that constitute genocide under international law . The Canadian government continues arms trade relationships and has not taken sufficient actions to prevent complicity in these crimes. Our church's existing actions and statements address general concerns about the region but must respond to the current scale of this decision.

5. How does this proposal help us to live into our church’s commitments on equity?

Equity is not only about fairness—it is about restoring dignity and ensuring the full humanity of those who have been marginalized, silenced, or dehumanized. Standing with Palestinians today is an expression of our commitment to dismantle systems of oppression, wherever they exist, and to work toward a world where all people can live in safety and freedom. In the face of overwhelming injustice, silence favours the oppressor. Speaking and acting now is a way for the United Church to embody Christ’s call to love our neighbour, seek justice, and walk humbly with God. It affirms that Palestinian lives are as sacred as all others and that peace cannot be built on dispossession and violence.

If you have questions regarding this proposal, please send them to: GCinfo@united-church.ca