Thousands gather in solidarity with Israel at North York rally
CTV
Thousands of people have gathered at Mel Lastman Square in solidarity with Israel in the aftermath of a weekend of violence in the Middle East.
Thousands of people have gathered at Mel Lastman Square in solidarity with Israel in the aftermath of a weekend of violence in the Middle East.
"We call for the hostages who were seized in this vile, horrific attack to be released immediately," said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking at the rally organized by the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. "We unequivocally condemn the terrorist attack by Hamas. And let me be very clear, as the Prime Minster has been: the glorification of terror has no place in Canada. That is not who we are. That is not what Canada is. There is no space for that here in our country."
Police from Toronto, York and Durham regions, as well as the OPP, are at this evening's rally, creating a barrier between the demonstration at Mel Lastman Square and a surge of pro-Palestinian counter-protestors.
In an email to CP24, Toronto police said four people had been arrested as of 9 p.m. on Monday, though it is unclear if charges have been laid. Police said the evening demonstration was "relatively peaceful."
An earlier, pro-Palestinian demonstration at Nathan Phillips Square was organized by the Palestinian Youth movement. By 3 p.m. there were hundreds of people flooding the square, spilling out onto Queen Street. By the time they started to march towards the Israeli embassy, the crowd had grown to an estimated 1,000 people.
Participants waved flags and held signs saying “stand with the Palestinian resistance” while chanting “Palestine will be free.” Multiple participants told CP24 the attacks and continued violence is their people’s attempt to stand against an occupation of their land.
Some demonstrators also appeared to speak out in favour of the actions of Hamas, which has been classified as a terrorist organization.