More than a thousand people gathered in downtown Toronto on Monday afternoon in support of the Palestinian people after a weekend of violence in the Middle East, with an opposing rally set to take place in North York later Monday night.
The 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.
As a result of the demonstration, police are reporting rolling road closures in downtown Toronto, particularly on Bay Street. Officials are advising residents to find alternative routes, warning of major traffi delays. “While the Toronto Police Service will be present to ensure lawful demonstrations, we want to be very, very clear that we will not tolerate intimidation, harassment or hate motivated behavior aimed at specific communities,” Pogue said. “Our city has experienced hundreds of lawful and peaceful demonstrations over the last year, and we are hopeful that will be the same today.”
“You can also photograph what you see and share that. But we will have that physical presence on the ground. You can contact those officers.” One group called Palestine4Toronto called on its members to celebrate the attacks by waving Palestinian flags over the Roncesvalles pedestrian bridge over the Gardiner Expressway Saturday, while a coffee shop in Mississauga held a party into the night, with people dancing on cars and eating cake.
“The Government of Canada has rightly listed Hamas as a terrorist organization and we simply must not tolerate any support of terror, full stop,” Chow said in her statement. “The rally to support Hamas at Nathan Phillips Square today is unsanctioned, without a permit and I unequivocally denounce it. Glorifying this weekend's indiscriminate violence, including murder and kidnapping of women and children, by Hamas against Israeli civilians is deplorable.
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