Nearly a hundred demonstrators chanted “Free Palestine” Wednesday evening, near the Guy-Concordia metro station in downtown Montreal. On the fifth day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, crowds expressed support for the Palestinian people.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m., protesters gathered in a circle to hear and film the speeches. “The occupation [israélienne] never ended. The inhabitants of Gaza, the West Bank and all of Palestine have lived under a brutal regime for 75 years,” said Chadi Marouf, regarding the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. “It is time for people to wake up. wake up,” he added, addressing the crowd while standing on a bench.
On Monday, Justin Trudeau wrote on the social network Mr. Marouf argued that the marchers were instead gathering in the name of “the lives lost under Israel’s brutal rule.”
According to the Jewish state army, 1,200 Israelis have been killed since Saturday, most of them unarmed civilians. In the Gaza Strip, the death toll stands at 1,055 according to local authorities. However, this excludes the 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants that Israel claims to have found on its territory.
On Sunday, Israel declared war on Hamas after the surprise attack launched the day before by the Palestinian Islamist movement from Gaza.
Wednesday evening’s demonstration took place peacefully, to the sound of rhythmic music blaring from the speakers of a red car that accompanied the participants. Until nightfall, people held up signs reading: “I support Palestine,” while numerous police officers monitored the scene.
Heba Zaqout, met near a kiosk selling scarves and sweaters in the colors of Palestine, said she has relatives who live in Gaza. “The least thing I can do to support them is to come here,” she said, accompanied by Monia, her 15-year-old daughter.
“I cry at night”
Among the crowd, Sara Hanafia told Duty that it was absolutely necessary to find a solution to this conflict. “What is happening, it hurts very, very badly. I am not Palestinian, I am Algerian, but I cry about it at night,” she said, with tears in her eyes.
The 35-year-old woman believes that Canada and the United States are on the wrong track by siding with “one camp,” that of Israel. “That’s not how we’re going to find the solution. » Mme Hanafia plans to attend every pro-Palestine event that will be organized in the metropolis in the near future.
The pro-Palestine demonstration which took place in Montreal last Sunday was strongly denounced by Prime Minister François Legault. “I am really very disappointed to see these people who allow themselves to take actions like that in such tragic, sad moments,” he lamented on Tuesday.
In recent days, various rallies have taken place to commemorate the victims of the Hamas attack in Israel. Several hundred Montrealers gathered Monday evening at the Gelber conference center, in the Côte-des-Neiges — Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, to pay tribute to the deceased.