Demonstrators flocked by the thousands to Place des Arts in Montreal, where a rally was held on Saturday afternoon to denounce Israel’s war against Hamas, almost a year after the start of the conflict.
The demonstration, organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian activist groups, aims to “mark one year of genocide that killed more than 40,000 martyrs,” according to a publication by Palestinian Youth Movement, one of the organizers of the action.
Palestinian flags in hand and wearing keffiyehs, a few thousand demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain streets, before marching towards the West.
According to Zeyad Abisaab, general coordinator of Concordia’s Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) group, the number of demonstrators was “between 7,000 and 10,000.”
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The gathering is held at Place-des-Arts in Montreal.
“We want the government to stop taking our money to finance weapons used in war,” said Sidonie Auclair-Gendron, a demonstrator, on the sidelines of the gathering. “Protesting is all we can do to be heard.”
The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) “anticipates excesses” during the demonstration, according to an internal email from the Brotherhood of Police Officers of Montreal (FPPM) obtained by The Press.
Saturday’s demonstration is intended to be peaceful, said Rama Al Malah, spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement, before the start of the demonstration. “But police repression is increasingly strong against us, both from universities and the police,” she added.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Demonstrators gathered in large numbers at the intersection of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain streets.
According to the activist, citizen mobilization against the war in Gaza has increased since the Israeli incursion into Lebanon. “We are mobilizing all sections of society today: we have unions, lawyers, health workers and student contingents,” she said.
Around thirty demonstrations against the war in Gaza will be held around the world, including in Ottawa and Quebec, on Saturday afternoon.
With information from Daniel Renaud, The Press