Hundreds of people demonstrated in the streets of Montreal on Friday to denounce the “genocide” suffered by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to demand a ceasefire, almost two weeks after the deadly Hamas attack. in Israel.
The demonstrators first went in the early afternoon in front of the United States Consulate General in Montreal, located on Sainte-Catherine Street, before starting a journey through the streets of the city center which took them conducted in front of the offices of Quebec Prime Minister François Legault. Around 3 p.m., another demonstration in support of Palestine, started on the grounds of McGill University, joined the first mobilization, which attracted several hundred people.
“We are here three days after Israel bombed a hospital where 500 people were killed, others were injured and are dying,” he said. Duty Sarah Shamy, spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement. On Tuesday, a raid hit a hospital in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 471 people, according to the Hamas health ministry. This source also reports more than 4,130 deaths in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7. On the Israeli side, around 1,400 deaths are reported in connection with these attacks.
“Ceasefire, now!” » could be read on a sign held up by a demonstrator. “Release all Palestinian prisoners,” demanded another, while many demonstrators did not hesitate on Friday to describe the siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip as a “genocide.” “Palestine is under attack. What are we doing ? We stand up and we counterattack,” the demonstrators then chanted in unison.
The latter, who remained seated for several hours in front of François Legault’s offices brandishing Palestinian flags, also deplored the unwavering support that several Western countries, including Canada, have given to Israel in recent days, despite the siege he imposed on the Gaza Strip, which is severely lacking in electricity, medicine and food, among other things.
“We are here because Canada and the United States are complicit in financing this genocide,” Sarah Shamy said in an interview. “Legault accomplice! », “Trudeau complicit! », then chanted the demonstrators, several of whom were still present in front of François Legault’s offices around 6 p.m.
Jewish solidarity
A Jewish student from McGill University, Isaiah, spoke on Friday in front of the several hundred demonstrators gathered in front of the establishment on Friday to remind people that many members of the Jewish community support the Palestinian cause. Since October 7, several politicians, including Prime Minister François Legault, have denounced the holding of pro-Palestine demonstrations in Montreal and elsewhere in the country, arguing that they applauded the murders committed in Israel by Hamas.
At the same time, in recent days, hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested in Washington as part of mobilizations organized in the American capital by Jewish activists sensitive to the Palestinian cause, reported the British daily The Guardian.
“It is important that we stand alongside Jewish activists in Washington and elsewhere in the world who believe in Palestinian liberation,” said Isaiah, who asked not to give his last name in an interview. highly polarizing nature of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“We must not forget the Israeli deaths either, but I think it is important to demonstrate that if we want a resolution to this conflict, it is by having a ceasefire and asking Israel to stop its apartheid regime that we are going to get there,” said protester Leyli. “We are here to demand an end to the genocide occurring in the Gaza Strip. »