OTTAWA - Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler has joined thousands of Jews calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war and starvation in Gaza.

The longtime human rights activist, a strong supporter of Israel, has signed an open letter saying Netanyahu's policies on Palestinians "are doing lasting damage to Israel" and the prospects for peace.

The letter, organized by a group called the London Initiative, says Israel's policies and its failure to suppress settler violence in the West Bank are having "severe consequences" for Jewish communities around the world.

It calls Israel's aid restrictions on Gaza "a moral and strategic disaster" that hands a "propaganda victory to Hamas" and undermines the important work of countering Hamas and Iran.

The letter is

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